THE DEATH OF SUDDEN DEATH

The NFL has finally done something about their hotly debated sudden death overtime. Albeit, only in postseason play. The standard OT rules will remain for regular season games. The NFL owners approved the change by a vote of 28-4.

The new system is actually similar to one I've proposed in the past. There's a coin toss, determining first possession. Now if the first team with the ball scores a touchdown, the game is over. But if they only manage a field goal, the other team gets a possession as well. If both teams get field goals, the game will thereafter resume as sudden death (so another field goal would win it).

It certainly removes some of the air of illegitimacy from coin-toss winners moving the ball 40 yards then kicking a field goal. OT winners will have more certainty and less doubt about whether or not they "deserved" to win, or were simply beneficiaries of a lucky coin-toss.

It's strange that the rule is ONLY for postseason play. The NFL is essentially admitting that their old overtime rules are inferior, yet they're keeping them in place. This convinces me that the rule change isn't about fairness, it's about legitimacy.

Then again, there'd be no ties at the end of a postseason overtime, they'd just play another 15:00 period. So it makes sense not to increase the likelihood of tied games in the regular season.

Ironically, Minnesota was one of the 4 teams that voted against the change, even though it was they who the Saints beat in OT after the toss of a coin.

WHO ARE THESE GUYS?

If it weren't for the buffoonery of Dennis Wideman, I would've thought NESN were broadcasting a game from last season. Lucic and Krejci were back to form, Wheeler was solid, Chara was a threat from the point, it was great.

I'll take this with a big chunk of salt, though. Atlanta just isn't that good. As I mentioned in my preview, the Thrashers had won 4 straight, but that came after 6 straight losses. That team down there is more bipolar than the Bruins.

And the Thrashers played like complete crap. Their fans showed up more than they did, which is saying something. Why the hell is there a team in Atlanta anyway? You're talking about a warm weather city that barely supports its warm weather teams when they're good.

This was another big win for the standings though. Two points for Boston, 0 for Atlanta. That creates a 3 point cushion between teams, with the Bruins having an extra game to play. It also puts the B's only a point behind Montreal and Philly. And there is a HUGE difference between the quality of opponent the 8th seed will play compared to the 6th.

And I'll give some accolades to Tuukka Rask. He made some tough saves early in the game, and even stopped a penalty shot. It was his 4th shutout of the season, and he's clearly the #1 goalie going into the playoffs.

Bruins host Tampa Bay Thursday night.

Source:
ESPN

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/John Bazemore

BRUINS/THRASHERS PREVIEW*

Atlanta is the streakiest team in the NHL. They've won 4 in a row, but that's right after losing 6 straight. They've got offensive talent, but not nearly as much since they traded Kovalchuk. Their goaltending's mediocre and their defense is far from stifling. They've allowed the 3rd most goals in the NHL.

On paper, the Bruins are clearly superior. But which Bruins team will show up each period?

I think the Bruins will play well for 30 to 40 minutes in this game, which should be enough to score 3 goals against the Thrashers. It'll be closely fought, as both teams are playing for a playoff spot, but the Bruins are simply a better team. And I can see this game going to overtime. But Rask pushes the Bruins over the top.

Bruins 4, Thrashers 3, shootout win for the B's.

THE OTHER MARCH MADNESS*

To give you a break from basketball, here's my NCAA Hockey Tournament preview...

Four New England teams made the tournament, three from Hockey East (BC, UNH, Vermont) and one from ECAC (Yale). BC won the Hockey East tourney, earning a #1 seed and the privilege of playing in Worcester. UNH is a #3 seed and will be playing their games in Albany. Yale is also a #3 seed and will also be in Worcester. Vermont barely squeezed in as a #4 seed and will play all the way out in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Northeast Region (Worcester, MA):
#1 Boston College Eagles vs. #4 Alaska Nanooks
This is BC's 29th NCAA appearance, it's Alaska's 1st. The Nanooks are just happy to be there, while BC will be doing work, trying to get to their 22nd Frozen Four. Both teams are fast, BC is faster and stronger, and will prevail.

#2 North Dakota Fighting Sioux vs. #3 Yale Bulldogs
UND won the very tough WCHA tournament title, while Yale finished the season losing 3 of 4 and being eliminated from the ECAC tourney by lowly Brown. But before those 4 subpar games, they ripped off 7 straight wins and won the ECAC regular season title. But I have to go with the experienced Fighting Sioux to win this one.

So it'll be BC/North Dakota in the Northeast Regional Finals. This is a nice non-geographic NCAA rivalry here. I think BC gets a few calls, scores a few PP goals and squeezes by the Sioux to advance to the Frozen Four.



East Region (Albany, NY):
#1 Denver Pioneers vs. #4 RIT Tigers
Denver has been dominant all season before losing in the WCHA semis. RIT is much closer to Albany, but Denver should be used to travelling long distances (the WCHA spreads teams from Alaska to Michigan). RIT won the weak AHA tournament and will be obliterated by Denver.

#2 Cornell Big Red vs. #3 New Hampshire Wildcats
A very good matchup here. Cornell won the ECAC tournament and fell short of the regular season title by only 1 point. UNH won the Hockey East regular season, but were knocked out in the first round of the tourney by Vermont. This will essentially be a home game for Cornell, and the Big Red are a very patient, confident, big team. I think they prevail over the Wildcats.

So it'll be Cornell vs. Denver. I'm going to be biased and say Cornell advances to Detroit.



Midwest Region (Fort Wayne, IN):
#1 Miami (Ohio) RedHawks vs. #4 Alabama-Huntsville Chargers
Miami's been on a mission since their heartbreaking last minute defeat to BU in the NCAA Finals a year ago. They absolutely dominated the CCHA, losing only 2 conference games and winning the regular season title by 20 points. Bama-Huntsville won the CHA tournament, which is as unimpressive as it gets. The CHA is folding after this season and UAH will be an independent next season. This will likely be their last NCAA bid for awhile, and it won't last long. Miami advances, PDQ.

#2 Bemidji State Beavers vs. #3 Michigan Wolverines
A contrast here as BSU dominated the regular season in the CHA, while Michigan finished 7th in their conference. BSU somehow lost in the CHA tourney, while Michigan needed to win the entire CCHA tourney to get here. Big Blue is red hot, winning 8 of their last 9, and it's only a 150 mile drive from Ann Arbor to Fort Wayne. Michigan wins.

So the final will be Miami vs. Michigan. The Wolverines beat Miami in the CCHA semifinals, but I don't see that happening again. Miami moves on to the Frozen Four.



West Region (St. Paul, MN)
#1 Wisconsin Badgers vs. #4 Vermont Catamounts
Wisconsin finished 2nd in the mighty WCHA, but watch out for Vermont here. The Catamounts were 8th in Hockey East, so how did they make the NCAA tournament? By beating quality teams. They split a pair of close games with Denver (in Denver) in October, beat BC 2 of 3, beat Yale in November, beat Bama-Huntsville, and shutout UNH twice in the Hockey East quarterfinals. Against NCAA tournament teams, they're 7-5-1, so Wisconsin better be ready. But I think they will be, and the Badgers move on.

#2 St. Cloud State Huskies vs. #3 Northern Michigan Wildcats
In a tournament with Badgers, Catamounts, Nanooks, Fighting Sioux, Beavers, and Big Reds, these two teams have the most unoriginal nicknames. St. Cloud State was very close to garnering a #1 seed, and Northern Michigan is a bit of a late-comer to the national scene. The game's in Minnesota, so I'm picking St. Cloud State.

And Wisconsin will beat SCSU.



So my Frozen Four:
Boston College
Cornell
Miami
Wisconsin

But don't be shocked if Michigan sneaks in.

The games start Friday. UNH/Cornell will be at 6:30pm. Vermont/Wisconsin will be at 7:00pm. On Saturday, BC/Alaska will be at 1:30pm.

ARE THE CELTICS "BACK?"

Not really.

As much as the super-optimists and bright-siders surrounding the Celtics want to gush about them winning 2 of 3 on a tough road trip, and 4 of 5 overall, I can't help but see the same malfunctions that have plagued the C's since Christmas.

Utah's a good team, #4 in the West, and losing to them in Salt Lake City is nothing to be ashamed of. Unless you're up by 5 at halftime, only to lose by 13 in the end. And those afore mentioned ultra positive Celtics apologists can harp on the bench scoring 42 points, which is lovely, but when the team is -17 when Garnett and Ray Alen are on the floor, something's wrong.

This is an old team that gets tired. It's as simple as that. When the playoffs do come, they'll be able to "flip the switch" and have enough juice for 5 to 10 games. But a Championship run requires a minimum of 16 games, and as many as 28 games. That's 1/5 to 1/3 of a season. In '08 the C's needed 26 games to claim the title. They don't have the fuel to keep the fires burning for that long.

Source:
ESPN

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Danny Chan La

BC WINS HOCKEY EAST

BC Assistant Captain Matt Lombardi entered Saturday night's Hockey East title game with 3 goals on the season. He had 3 goals in the game, as the high-flying BC offense held off a hungry Maine side that refused to go down without a fight.

I'm a BC fan, but I'll admit to wanting to see Maine win here. They've had a solid year after back-to-back dismal 13 win seasons, and a win would've given them an automatic berth in the NCAAs. Their resume is not good enough for an at-large bid.

The Black Bears never led the game, but they never trailed by more than 2 goals. Three of their scores came on the very next shift after BC had scored. They never let the Eagles get out of sight. But the Eagles were too good, too loaded.

BC has potential to do some serious damage on a national level. They've earned a #1 seed, along with the privilege of playing the first two rounds in nearby Worcester. They're a fast, deep team with ample experience at several key positions. This will be the 3rd NCAA Tournament for some of BC's seniors.

BRUINS DO WHAT THEY MUST

I won't get too excited over Sunday's 2-1 victory over the Rangers. The game can be summed up thusly: a solid Bruins team with good goaltending took advantage of two Rangers' missteps to score twice and beat a 10th place team.

The Rangers are almost as offensively inept as the Bruins, averaging just 2.58 goals per game. Despite having some recognizable names on their roster, they've been a disappointment all season, failing to fully function as a team. And you saw that yesterday when their defencemen were easily "mesmerized by the puck" and drawn out of position, allowing Miroslav Satan, then Dennis Wideman time and space to score.

You know every time the Bruins' power play fails, I not only miss Marc Savard, I think to myself "The loss of this unit's effectiveness resulted in only 11 seconds of retribution?" I'm still not over Thursday night's shortcomings, at least in the revenge department.

But this win is what the Bruins must do if they want to make the playoffs. It's what they must do to control their own destiny. It's what they must do to maintain hope of avoiding Washington in the 1st round.

The Bruins are a mere 3 points behind 5th, 6th, and 7th placed Ottawa, Philadelphia, and Montreal. The Bruins also have an extra game remaining. Unfortunately, the B's are also only 1 point ahead of 9th place Atlanta, who they play Tuesday night in Atlanta. The Thrashers have won 4 straight.

Source:
ESPN

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

BRUINS FAIL AT EVERYTHING

I am not entertained in the least.

It started off beautifully. Shawn Thornton, as if imbued (inspired/possessed) by the '70 Bruins who were honored pregame, totally whaled on Matt Cooke. It was more than a fight, it was a beatdown, and Thornton got in a few shots after the linesmen tried breaking it up. He got an extra 10 minutes for it, but it well was worth it.



What happened to Cooke after that?

Nothing!

Seidenberg sort of hit him with a bodycheck I guess. Krejci, to his credit, tried to rattle his cage a bit with a forgettable "check." But nobody dropped the gloves with him again, nobody took aim at him. I guess losing your best player for the season is only worth 11 seconds of fisticuffs.

But in the 1st period, at least, the Bruins were physical and fought well. Lucic looked like the Lucic from last year. And the play was generally even, if not favoring the B's. They allowed a silly breakaway and a goal, but so what? They hit some posts, and M.A. Fleury was flailing about like the utter spaz he is. Goals were imminent.

But things seemed to change after the 1st intermission (thanks for the unpep-talk, Claude). The Bruins left Cooke alone. NESN's announcers kept saying that there was a "dance card of guys willing to tangle with him." Stuart, Lucic, Begin, Chara, and Sobotka are the names that come to mind. But Cooke was just sort of left to his own antagonistic devices.

It was as if Luke, Obi-Wan, and Leia decided to go to the mall in the middle of Star Wars instead of trying to destroy the Death Star. "Yeah, they blew up Alderaan, but we destroyed 6 of their anonymous fighter pilots, so we're done. Let's shop!"



Even when the game was 3-0 and out of hand, the Bruins were more focused on being embarrassed by the Penguins on the ice, than piledriving Matt Cooke through the ice. They were still trying to claim points in a game that was by then pointless.

When the game was about revenge, the Bruins played focused hockey. They all had the same fire, the same goal, the same ideals. They were still limited by their own physical (Krejci) and mental (Satan) shortcomings, but they appeared to be playing at their best levels, and playing together.

Then when Julien tried to refocus the Bruins on getting 2 points, not so mysteriously they lost focus on their jobs. They were focused on moving a number in the standings, not on getting to loose pucks or making tape-to-tape passes. The result was then made inevitable.



Michael "Appendix" (because he serves no purpose) Ryder has another new nickname: It's Michael Bystander. At the start of the 3rd period, he's lined up with Cooke on the wing for the faceoff. Not even a nudge when the puck drops. He actually gave Cooke 2 or 3 feet to maneuver. Michael Bystander is completely useless, and I'd rather see Tim Thomas play right wing. Or sign Glen Murray again!



So even though the headlines are saying "The Bruins Got Revenge, but Lost the Game," I obnoxiously disagree. The Bruins got no revenge. Do you think Cooke will think twice the next time some premier centreman is vulnerable in their backswing? Do you think the next goon will have any apprehension when he has Patrice Bergeron in his crosshairs?

Nope. Cuz all they'll have to endure is 11 seconds of hell with Shawn Thornton, and that's it. Is that vengeance enough? Is it retribution, "payback," repayment, retaliation. Does it even things up? Is it justice? Is it fair?

When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, did we bomb Tokyo just once? No, we bombed it until we obliterated it. Then we bombed other cities.

If someone steals $1,000 from you, are you satisfied if they give you $100 back?

If a dog attacks a human, does the human get to bite the dog? No, the dog gets destroyed. That didn't happen to Matt Cooke.

Bruins will get shutout by the Rangers Sunday afternoon, and they will either miss the playoffs or get swept out in 4 games. This team has no heart, no soul, no chance. I feel as depressed and cynical as Randy Quaid in the middle of Major League II.

Thankfully, at least Shawn Thornton had the right idea.

Source:
ESPN

Photo Credit:
AP Photo