While watching the 3rd period, when the Bruins were trailing 2-1, I was going to mention in my recap how Mark Recchi hasn't done much for the offense this year. And how that entire line of Recchi-Bergeron-Wheeler was comprised of non-scorers. And just like every other time I've dared to doubt Recchi, he reminds us that senior citizens, although slow and dangerous behind the wheel, can still serve a purpose.
Recchi's tip-in goal was the culmination of a well-executed comeback. A comeback that was sparked by a Buffalo turnover of Favre-ish proportions which gave Horton a gift goal, and a comeback made possible by Tim Thomas, who also got a one-punch TKO on Patrick Kaleta.
Thomas caught the charging Kaleta flush with a left jab. He also made 28 Saves, including a ridiculous poke-check in the OT that allowed the game to continue.
Nathan Horton has returned as a goal scoring threat. He's scored twice in the last 2 games, and has 4 points in the last 3. At the start of the season, his quick release, and his best-on-the-team accuracy helped propel the Bruins to an 11-5-1 (8 goals, 10 assists in that period) record. And since his drought began on November 20th, the Bruins went 3-3-2 (1 goal, 1 assist for Horton).
Thursday night, the Bruins host the Islanders, who a firm grip on the NHL's worst record, so hopefully the B's can take advantage. Because after that, there's a tough stretch of games.
It's very difficult to beat the Patriots in Foxborough. It's very difficult to beat them twice in a year. And it's very difficult to beat them as well as they've been playing. Since that farce in Cleveland, they've amassed 160 points in 4 games.
I'll be honest, I didn't see much of the game, as I was very busy doing security at the Stadium. But I could tell from the crowd's reactions, from the glimpses of play I caught, from the box score, and from the play-by-play, that this was utter domination.
The Patriots are the best team in the AFC East. And if power rankings mattered, I'd lobby for them to be #1 in the NFL.
The last time these teams met, the game featured Tom Brady forcing the ball to Randy Moss. Mistakes, miscues, complete failures. That didn't happen last night. The Patriots have a diverse arsenal of weapons, and they're finally using them. Their offense without Moss is much more difficult to stop. It's unpredictable. Only 11 of Brady's 21 completions were to WRs.
How can you defend against a passing attack that can go in any direction, directed by Tom Brady? He's going to find an open man somewhere.
And now the defense is making big plays. This is really starting to come together.
But it's a long season left. The Patriots have to travel to Chicago and play the 9-3 Bears. Don't dismiss Chicago. 9-3 is 9-3 is 9-3. But it'll be a fun week, and what noise, if any, does come from the Meadowlands, will be quite enjoyable.
Once again, BC will make the trip to San Francisco, this time to play in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl. They'll once again face a quality opponent, this time in #15 Nevada. The Wolfpack are 12-1, their only loss coming at Hawaii. They were the ones who beat Boise State.
Oh, and San Francisco is about 220 miles from Reno. So, don't expect BC to be the favorites in this once. Then again, I think the Eagles' defense might prevent utter humiliation. And if BC do somehow find a way to win, it'll be a nice cap to a forgettable season. Though, that's wishful thinking.
BC football has gotten to the point that they're expected to make bowl games, even when having off years. That's good. But they've been stuck in this rut, cycling through the same low-level ACC affiliated bowls, for some time now. Can the program move forward, and contend for those higher games, like the Chick-fil-A and Champs Sports Bowl?
I doubt it, at least in the foreseeable future. And down the road in Storrs, the UConn Huskies are going to a BCS Bowl. They won the big game at the end of the year, which BC has failed to do in years past. And winners get the glory.
The game will be played in the Giants' homefield of AT&T Park on January 9, at 9.
I know not to expect 8 goals a game. I know with the forwards the Bruins have, they'll sometimes struggle to score. That's not too frustrating. They are who they are. But when they fail to keep a lead, it's infuriating.
To be fair, this was the first time the Bruins had a lead in a game, and wound up losing the contest. That's impressive. But how much of that is due to Tim Thomas making unreal stops? And he almost stole another one Sunday night.
The Bruins were 42 seconds from a 2-1 road win. One might argue "they were close to winning that." But throughout the 3rd period, they were closer to losing it. It's just that Thomas kept them up 2-1 with some ridiculous saves.
Although that one came in the OT, you get the idea.
The Bruins once again resumed their bad, undisciplined, porous neutral zone habits in the 3rd period. In their 3-0 win over Philly last week, they maintained the lead by not allowing the Flyers to bring the puck up the ice without expending some effort. It was exactly how the Bruins need to play in order to win.
They're going to find themselves in 2-1, 3-2 games throughout this season, and in the post-season. They don't have the offensive talents to regularly add to their leads, so they need to make it as hard as possible for their opponents to even reach the offensive zone.
Toronto sucks, and the Bruins lost a point up there. It's a shame. Not only do these points add up, but these neutral zone habits have been plaguing the team for years.
The Sox traded three prospects and a player to be named to the Padres for Adrian Gonzalez. The highly touted, highly sought after first baseman is the biggest Red Sox acquisition since Daisuke Matsuzaka. And similar to that circus, it's been just a bit over-glorified.
Gonzalez is a great player. And after losing Victor Martinez, and likely Adrian Beltre, this move makes perfect sense. With the returns of Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis, the Red Sox should have a much more potent offense in 2011.
Gonzalez will also benefit from playing 81 games in Fenway, and 0 in PetCo Park. His numbers are markedly better away from his former home field. Despite having that handicap, he hit .298 last year, with a .393 OBP, and 31 homers. He's surpassed 30 HRs each of the last 4 seasons, and is only 28. He's entering the prime of his career.
At the moment, the Sox lineup could look like this:
Pretty good, eh? However, I still can't help thinking how much better it would look with Victor Martinez in that 5 spot. And of course, Carl Crawford occupying an OF position would improve things dramatically. It's still beefy in the middle.
But scoring runs wasn't what undid the 2010 Red Sox. It was, ironically, preventing them. The Sox allowed the 8th most runs in baseball. They were 22nd in team ERA, 23rd in bullpen ERA, 23rd in Save Percentage, and blew the 4th most Saves in all of baseball.
In other words, this team needs pitching in order to have any prayer at once again reaching the World Series. So while this trade is a big step in the right direction, it comes after the Sox took a step back and allowed Victor Martinez to leave. And there's still quite a staircase for the Sox to climb with their pitching situation.
So I'm glad. But hardly thrilled. Like everyone else seems to be.
The Bruins have come out and announced that despite asking Sturm to waive his no trade clause, and despite talking trade with other teams out there, Marco Sturm is still a member of the Boston Bruins.
Here's what happens. Someone hears something, perhaps a leak from the teams involved, about being very near to trading people. This "source" then conveys the info as a rumor to a "reporter." The reporter passes it along to his news "outlet" as a "report of a trade," not an actual trade, just a report. The "outlet" then uses words like "reportedly," or "sources say."
Then it hits the internet and sports radio. It's never been confirmed or announced as an official fact. It's just a report of a rumor that might be close to being a fact. But people like me (I would have written about it if I didn't have to go to work) report it as a fact, give our opinions on the deal, et cetera. Soon, so many people are reporting this rumor, that it feels like a solid fact. Newspapers write stories on their sites, ESPN, TSN, Yahoo Sports, Fox Sports, everyone has the story.
But it's still a trade in the works, not a done deal. Actually, it seems to be a trade that died. It's pretty clear that the Bruins are actively shopping Sturm. And it's highly likely he won't be wearing a Bruins uniform when he returns from his injuries. But right now, he's still a member of the Bruins.
It's a shame, because he's one of my favorite players. And I'd love to see him and Seguin together on a speed line. But even if he does get shipped somewhere, my Marco Sturm German Olympic jersey will remain my favorite jersey.
I'm going to begin my recap of an 8-1 victory by discussing goaltending and defense. Yes, I really am.
This wasn't one of those "closer than the score" games, the 8-1 fits because the Bruins utterly dominated, and it all started in the defensive zone. Remember, this was a 1-0 game 19 minutes in, and a 3-1 game 37 minutes in.
It's time for me to gushl over Tim Thomas again. He stopped 37 shots tonight. Many of those came early (15 saves in the 1st) before the game was decided. He just sees the puck so well, even in traffic. His puck vision really impresses me. If Whitey Bulger dressed up as a hockey puck, Tim Thomas would find him in 17 minutes.
Now to the defense, who were the real story in this game. Zdeno Chara was on Stamkos like a second jersey. Not only that, his stick-positioning all night was superb, and he cracked a few skulls early on. Seidenberg, Boychuk, and Stuart all had flawless defensive performances. Ference and McQuaid were no slouches either.
The defensive work, along with Thomas, kept it a 0-0 game, then kept it a 1-0 game, then kept it a 2-0 game, then a 3-0 game. A bit of misfortune with a broken-stick turnover allowed it to reach 3-1, then the defense resumed its clamp on Tampa Bay's skill players, and on it went.
When the Bruins got the big lead, the defense didn't yield any easy plays. And that's what allowed the score to inflate up to 8-1.
Marc Savard returned, and although he wasn't on his A-Game, he and Krejci's sudden reappearance must bring some comfort to the team, as players resume their regular duties. Bergeron goes from a #1 center to a #3, and more situational center. Blake Wheeler doesn't have to be a center at all. Seguin can log some time on the wings. Jordan Caron can log some time as a healthy scratch.
Krejci's return has reignited the top line. 3 goals and 6 points from Lucic-Krejci-Horton last night. Both Krejci and Horton were +4. They understand each other so well, it's as if they've been playing together for years, not months.
Speaking of returns, the relatively unheralded return of Johnny Boychuk in mid-November has bolstered the Bruins' defense. He's as physical as Stuart, makes great decisions, is good with the puck, and can really bomb it from the blue-line.
How cool was Seidenberg's goal?
Seven different Bruins scored goals. 12 different Bruins registered points.
Lucic netted his 12th of the season. He's only 5 shy of his career high. Michael Ryder returned to the stat sheet with a nice blocker-side snipe and a pair of assists. Shawn Thornton scored his 5th of the season. His career high is 6. Tim Thomas assisted on the Thornton goal, which gives him 2 on the season, which is a new career high.
And you can say that Thornton's goal was a gift, and it was. And Seidenberg's, although clever, was also a goaltender miscue. Recchi's goal featured some beneficial bounces, and Krejci's second was slightly deflected. Blah blah blah.
The Bruins put themselves in good positions all night. Their defense shut down a prolific Tampa Bay offense, their counter-attack was executed well, and they didn't make many mistakes. Some Lightning errors may have let the score reach 8-1 instead of 3-1 or 4-1, but Tampa Bay NEVER stood a chance in this game after the 1st period. Not even close.
I loved the intensity that the Bruins came out with. Starting the game with the Thornton line was a nice touch.
However, it's difficult to maintain that level of intensity for 82 games. They need to find a middle-ground between last night's sheer ferocity, and some of their lackadaisical efforts in November.
But hey, I'll take it. Bruins play the Leafs in Toronto on Saturday night.
Russia won the bid to host the 2018 World Cup. They beat out competing bids from Belgium/Netherlands, England, and Portugal/Spain. And that makes sense. Russia's becoming more and more of a player in the game of soccer, it's a massive country, a growing economy, and the World Cup has never been played there.
But Qatar winning the bid to host the 2022 Cup is a bit surprising. Only 1.7 million people live there. And granted, it's a rich country, but it's just so tiny. How many soccer stadiums can they have in the 164th largest country in the world?
Qatar defeated bids from the US, Japan, South Korea, and Australia.
I know that expanding the game to new places is important, and 3 out of 4 of those countries have hosted World Cups in recent memory, but Qatar? They don't even follow the "q with a u" rule.
And what about the weather? June and July in Qatar see average daily temperatures surpass 106 degrees. And for night games, enjoy the average LOW temperature of 84.
I'd been hoping that the US would host the 2022 World Cup. And failing that, Australia. But it looks as though if I want to attend a World Cup soccer game, I have to go to kidnap capital of the world Brazil in 2014, or mafia run Russia in 2018, or a country that has a "defense co-operation" agreement with Iran in 2022.
I'm pretty sure the members of FIFA received some A-rab money for all this.
