Dzhokhar Tsarnaevs Was an Equal Partner, Not a Little Brother Led Astray

This is now the narrative of the Marathon bombers: Older brother Tamerlan struggled to adjust in America, didn't make many friends, kept to himself, was a serious person, and eventually became a radicalized jihadist. Younger brother Dzhokhar's personality and experience was the opposite  He was easygoing, described as something of a class clown, captain of the wrestling team, scholarship winner, went to parties, smoked weed. The narrative being built in the media is that socially awkward Tamerlan led friendly Dzhokhar down a path toward evil. Tamerlan led the way and influenced his younger brother to follow.

Fuck that. Even if it were true, that's just as bad, if not worse.

I have an older brother, and I love him, but if he ever hinted at killing innocent people, I wouldn't tag along. I'd do everything I could to convince him to rethink such a crazy idea, and stop him if he didn't. Dzhokhar was either too much of a pussy to do this, or he was an equal partner in the plot.

Back when they were known as Suspect #1 (Black Hat) and Suspect #2 (White Hate), you can see from their body language how different the brothers' personalities were.

Tamerlan is serious, like he's on a mission. He's hidden his face with sunglasses and a hat to make him almost unidentifiable. Dzhokhar is casual, carrying an explosive packed with shrapnel by just one strap of his backpack. His hat backwards, his face visible (why didn't Tamerlan exert that alleged control he had over Dzhokhar and make him cover his face?). Dzhokhar looks nonchalant as he's about to commit murder. He struts. He's quite happy with what he's about to do.

And they both watched the bombs go off. They didn't leave, they stayed to watch what they were doing, watch the carnage, watch the death, and enjoy it. And then they strolled away.

Dzhokhar's behavior after the Marathon doesn't suggest that he's some kind of lackey, just doing what big brother says. He seems relaxed, completely fine with what he had done. Regret free. Guilt free. They didn't try to get out of town. He even attended classes at UMass-Dartmouth during the week. On Thursday, the day before the FBI released pictures of him as a suspect, he tweeted:

I'm a stress free kind of guy
— Jahar (@J_tsar) April 17, 2013

He shows no remorse for what he did or fear he'll be caught for it. They had 72 hours to get out of town, maybe go to Canada, maybe go to Russia. Instead, they hung around Cambridge. Relaxing.

Dzhokhar might have been a friendly, outgoing guy. He apparently brought that carefree attitude to how he viewed human life. He didn't care about it. His carefree demeanor is more like a sociopath than someone with a domineering big brother. He wasn't an innocent young man corrupted by the "influence exerted" (a phrase I'm tired of hearing) on him by his older brother. This was an equal partnership. He was INSPIRED by radicalism. He loved what he was doing and why. Leading up to the Marathon, he was quite proud of what he and his brother were scheming.

Five weeks before the bombing:

Never underestimate the rebel with a cause
— Jahar (@J_tsar) March 11, 2013

Not "rebels," but "rebel." He enjoyed the role of rebel that he was assuming.

A week before the bombing:

If you have the knowledge and the inspiration all that's left is to take action
— Jahar (@J_tsar) April 8, 2013

These are tweets written in the days that these two built their bombs, wired triggering devices, stuffed pressure cookers with nails and ball-bearings. They likely tested them, and decided where/when to drop them, as these tweets went out.

We've heard a great deal about Tamerlan's politics, but none about Dzhokhar's. The portrait being painted of Dzhokhar is that he didn't have any political opinions whatsoever. At least none that are apparent on the surface. When in fact, it seems like he had some very bizarre ones.

Idk why it's hard for many of you to accept that 9/11 was an inside job, I mean I guess fuck the facts y'all are some real #patriots #gethip
— Jahar (@J_tsar) September 2, 2012

That's an interesting political opinion. Doesn't seem easygoing at all.

On his Vkontakte page (Russian version of Facebook), he shared two videos on April 9th, less than a week before the Marathon. Here's one, which on his page had Russian (or possibly Chechen) subtitles instead of English. It's very graphic, very emotional.

The other video is a 4 minute clip from a TV show of a blind boy being interviewed. I can't understand what that videos is actually about (it's in Arabic, with Russian subtitles). At the very least Dzhokhar seems to be very emotionally invested in events in the Islamic world. Six days later he left a bomb on Boylston Street.

What disturbs and perturbs me about that Syrian video of bodies and crying mourners is that he seems so sympathetic to the suffering of these people, then he decides to make other innocent people suffer and go through the same horrible experience. What a hypocrite. What a fraud. This guy is an asshole. He sees no value in human life, particularly non-Muslim human life. He wanted us to die because of his political motives. He was angry and decided to resolve that anger by stuffing a pressure cooker with nails and ball-bearings that would shred flesh, shatter bones, and tear through arteries. How selfish can you get? He was upset, so strangers had to suffer for it.

He wasn't led astray by Tamerlan. Dzhokhar proudly went down that path with his brother, as equals, with his hat backwards, head held high, and a douchey carefree look on his face.

Bruins Lose, Boston Wins

The most important parts of last night's game were the moments before and after the game itself: The National Anthem and the players' salute to the crowd.

As far as the game goes, the Bruins played a strong, emotional game. They weren't lackadaisical as they've been in recent memory. Tip your cap to the Sabres, who are fighting for a playoff spot. And give an extra tip of the cap to Ryan Miller who played an excellent game. Let's not forget that the Sabres have a few Boston connections on their roster, and this game must have been emotional for them as well. Brian Flynn, who took the opening face-off, is from Lynnfield, MA. And Nathan Gerbe played at Boston College. The B's clinched a playoff spot. And that's good news. With 6 games left on their schedule they are tied at the top of the Northeast Division, with a game in hand. The Penguins are in town Friday night.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Elise Amendola

There Are So Many More Heroes Than Villains

We don't know who did this to us. We don't know why they did it. What we do know is that whoever they are, they can't win. In fact, they've already lost. The game's over. You lose. Sorry, but too many people did good things on the day you decided to try to scare us all. You're outnumbered, outworked, and most of all outclassed.

We can never undo what you did. There are 3 dead, more with injuries that will dramatically change their lives, and countless shaken and confused. However, there are survivors thanks to the quick and selfless actions of strangers. There's a City, a Country, a World united against terror. There is one or maybe a handful of villains in this story. There are too many heroes to mention. These are some...

There was Lucas Carr, an Army Ranger who normally pushes Matt Brown's wheelchair in road races to raise money for charity. For those who don't know, Matt Brown was a sophomore hockey player at Norwood High School (in my hometown), who suffered a spinal cord injury in a hockey game in 2010. Matt and Lucas now push each other, literally and figuratively, in races. Matt was unable to participate in the Marathon yesterday due to illness, but Lucas ran. He finished just before the blasts on Boylston. And, like the Rangers' motto of "Rangers lead the way" declares, he turned back to help the wounded.

He's in the right side of this picture, in a yellow cutoff shirt with tattooed arms.

Lucas wasn't alone. There was Carlos Arredondo, a noted peace activist who was at the finish line to cheer on someone who was running the Marathon for Arredondo's son, who died in Iraq in 2004. After the explosions, Arredondo did what he could to clear rubble and assist first responders.

Former New England Patriot Joe Andruzzi was photographed carrying a woman, and there's a brief appearance of him approaching this woman and her family which I hastily captured from my TV.

And one thing about this woman that strikes me is that her children are helping her, and she probably didn't want to seek help from EMTs because they were so busy with others. She tried to make it on her own, and Andruzzi gave them an assist. So much strength from Joe, from the woman, and from the girls helping her.

Watching these clips I see so many different types of people, different uniforms helping. My friend Tim volunteers for the BAA and was at the finish line, helping remove the barricades so medics could get to the wounded. He's physically okay, but understandably coping with some horrible memories of what he saw. You see a member of the media decide to stop taking pictures, sling his camera over his back, and help some cops pull the barricades away. You see a pair of men in camouflage helping with the barricades. I'm told one of them is Adam Ayer from Quincy, MA, who is currently in the National Guard and had just ran the race. Hospitals were inundated with runners wanting to give blood, even after running 26.2 miles. People who were at their body's limit of exertion managed to dig deep and find enormous reserves of energy, all to help strangers.

Think of how many first responders went toward the carnage, not knowing if there would be a third explosion. How many initials did we see doing difficult, necessary work yesterday. BPD, BFD, Boston EMS, MSP, BAA volunteers, MDs, RNs, US Army, Army ROTC groups, FBI, DEA, IRS-CID, DHS, OED, USN. And all the hard work of the ER and OR staffs at MGH, BMC, Tufts, and so on.

So much good done yesterday. But so much bad. The person or people who brought the bad to the table have already lost this game. It's like a game of chess against someone with only one piece. They did some damage, but we have so many rooks, bishops, knights, queens, and kings. We can't lose.

There will be a Boston Marathon in 2014, and it will go down as one of the best in the long history of the event. Violence and terror will not control our lives. And so long as that is true, and so long as the hearts of the good outwork the twisted minds of the bad, then we've already defeated terror.

Marathon Explosions

As we all know by now, one of the best, most celebrated day in Boston sports came to an abrupt halt when two explosions rocked the finish line of the Boston Marathon. At this point, most facts remain unclear. Emergency responders are working hard to take care of the victims, prevent any other devices from detonating, and discover who and what is responsible for this tragedy.

In a time like this sports scores and running times lose their meaning. Times like these are about people.

I feel it's important to focus on things we are grateful for when such horrors occur. Footage just after the explosions demonstrates the incredible compassion and courage of humanity. Firefighters, Police, paramedics, nurses, doctors, soldiers, volunteers, runners, passersby, all risking their lives in order to help those injured by these explosions.

It's easy to focus on how horrific people can be when things like this happen. However, it's vital to remember how caring and strong people can be in the most difficult and frightening of times.

Violence will always be defeated so long as good people outnumber and outwork violent people.

Red Sox Pitching MUST Remain at High Level

This is not the same Red Sox team as last year. Clearly. You can talk about clubhouse chemistry, the coaching staff, the baserunning, and that's all well and good. The true difference maker is pitching. And the Red Sox can only win if their pitching remains strong.

So far this season, the pitchers are reaching their potential. Last year Beckett was a bum, Lester had a wasted season, Buchholz had a crappy April. Things are so much different this year. So far. And for this team to contend the pitchers must remain at this level of quality, because the offense isn't able to bail them out.

Jon Lester has 2 Quality Starts out of the 3 he's made. He started off 2012 with 2 very good starts, then he struggled. He must remain consistently at or near this level. He's the Ace now. And the Sox rotation is so top heavy that Lester and Buchholz have to collect as many Wins as possible.

The Sox are 6-0 when Lester and Buchholz start. Last year they were 28-34 in those games, and 13-20 when Lester started.

Buchholz had two things to prove this season. Could he have a good start to the season. And could he maintain durability for a whole year. He's answered the first question. And now it's about staying healthy and performing for a full season. The Sox need Buchholz. As I mentioned above, they're 6-0 behind Lester and Buchholz. That means they're 2-4 in their other games.

Ryan Dempster could anchor the middle of the rotation. And how the Sox do in those starts could be the difference-maker in the playoff race. He's looked good. Today he was brilliant, striking out 10 in 7 innings. He's struck out 25 batters already.

These pitchers have to perform. Because the offense isn't that good. Sorry folks. I know you think that aggressive baserunning and "manufacturing" runs is going to make up for the lack of power on this team. But it doesn't. And once the weather warms up and homeruns really start flying for other teams, that deficit will become noticeable.

Coming into today the Sox were 12th in runs scored, 10th in OBP, 13th in SLG. They're averaging 4.7 runs a game. Take out the 13 runs they scored on Aprl 7th, and they're averaging 3.9. That's not good. It's not horrible.

For this team to win, they NEED a good start, they NEED the bullpen to hang on to almost every lead, they NEED to win 1-run games. They will not be able to come back from 5 run deficits. They won't win 13-10 slugfests. The offense just isn't there. The Red Sox blueprint for victory is all about pitching.

Things are once again pleasant at Fenway Park. The Red Sox have a 1-game sellout streak going. The pitchers look good. And they need to continue to look good.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Winslow Townson

Did Red Bull Get Too Cute at Shanghai?

Did Red Bull concede qualifying, or were they conceited?

Three weeks of intense media attention after the Multi 21 controversy, three weeks of introspection, three weeks of putting pressure on themselves, three weeks of figuring out how to fix something that wasn't broken. Is that why Red Bull decided to (try to) outsmart the entire field in qualifying? Is that why they rolled the dice and attempt to win the Chinese Grand Prix before the race even started?

Red Bull were clearly pushing themselves this weekend, perhaps too far. First it was insufficient fuel in Mark Webber's car, forcing him to withdraw from Q2, and eventually be forced to start the race from the pits. Then in Q3, Red Bull didn't let Sebastian Vettel go for pole. Instead they slapped a set of medium tires on the RB9 chassis and patted themselves on the back for their brilliance.

It didn't work in the race. As pit stops cycled, Vettel occasionally found himself at the front of the field. But the race was never his to win. He was always chasing. Tasked with conserving tires and running most of his laps against opponents with fresher rubber. And I don't know why Red Bull decided to rely solely on strategy to win this race.

The RB9 chassis is at its best when it's in free air. And Sebastian Vettel is at his best when he is pushing the car to the limit. So why did Red Bull bury their car in the pack, and why did they restrain the natural (occasionally out of control) initiative of their driver?

It doesn't make sense. You've won 3 straight constructors and drivers championships. You don't need strategy to win. Especially not such a unique, all-or-nothing tactic. You can race straight up.

When Red Bull errs, it's glaring. Because it doesn't happen often. It's like when Bill Belichick makes a coaching mistake, or Tiger Woods has a triple bogey. Any issues at Red Bull become a major story. What's frightening is that even with this incorrect strategy, Vettel still managed to finish 4th, within a breath of 3rd. And I think that's a story in and of itself. An unheralded strength of this team is their ability to recover from their mistakes (See: Abu Dhabi last year). Whereas in most teams, mistakes snowball and compound.

When other teams and drivers show their humanity, like when Ferrari and Fernando Alonso took themselves out of the Malaysian Grand Prix on lap 2, it doesn't draw the same attention or criticism as when Red Bull screw up.

Alonso is the perfect storm of media darling in F1. He drives for the most storied team in racing, AND he is also the underdog. It's a perfect combination. And so Alonso's mistakes are briefly mentioned, then shelved and forgotten. The same goes for the team he drives for. And when Alonso drives his Ferrari to victory, his triumphs are emphasized.

With Vettel and Red Bull, triumph is expected. So their wins are less gushed over by the media, and their failures are stories that feed the F1 media for multiple weeks. It's what happens when you're successful.

Red Bull tried to be too clever this weekend. And a team that drove a simple strategy and relied on their driver won the race. All three teams on the podium relied on their car and their driver to do their best. It's strange that the team with double-triple World Championships didn't trust themselves enough to do the same. Red Bull need to remember why they are successful, and it isn't because of Q3 tire strategy.

Photo Credit:
Vladimir Rys/Getty Images

Bruins Bad Habits Bite Back

Before last night the Bruins had won 5 of 6, and yet their fans were unhappy. Why? Because their play was uninspired, relaxed, inconsistent, and sometimes careless. They played the same way last night, against a decent team struggling for a playoff spot, and it bit them.

When is Milan Lucic going to get a healthy scratch? Or be once again demoted for the 3rd line (for longer than a game)? Claude Julien had the balls to scratch Phil Kessel in the playoffs. He kept Tyler Seguin on the bench as he developed. And this season he's moved Seguin to the 3rd line. Is Julien afraid of Lucic? This guy is playing with half a heart for almost all of his shifts.

The Bruins wore camouflage warm-ups pre-game, Lucic seems to wear camouflage during games because he is invisible on the ice.

And he makes the most obvious and dumbest mistakes with the puck. In his defensive zone he attempted a BLIND, slow, backhanded pass across the width of the ice. Of course it was intercepted. Lucic has no conception of where he is on the ice, and how careful he should be in certain spots.

Dougie Hamilton was a healthy scratch. Because Adam McQuaid came back. I guess Matt Bartkowski is better than Dougie Hamilton these days. If solid, mistake-free hockey is so important to Julien, why does Bartkoswki get rewarded for it and Lucic evades punishment for lack of it?

And has Hamilton been making mistakes? Has he been costing this team goals? He's been helping them score goals. He's been playing very sound at his position, especially considering his age. Hamilton was a healthy scratch. Why? Because taking care of the puck is vital. Unless you're Milan Lucic.

I apologize for my vexed frustrations. This team is like a rock band that has a great drummer, good guitarists, a capable bassist, and lead singers that sound like cats being anally raped. They ruin the whole act. And the manager seems to favor the singer over everyone else.

The B's travel to Raleigh to play the godawful Hurricanes. That should be a win, despite how crappily Lucic plays.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Charles Krupa

Bruins Win, But Shouldn't Be Happy

This team really pisses me off sometimes. They get a few bounces, make a few plays, and find themselves up 4-0. And that's when you get nervous. Because this team tries to run the clock out. They let the Devils back into this game, and that's just too bad. They lose Brad Marchand to an elbow to the head, get a 5 minute Power Play, then fail to get a shot on goal, and allow one in their own end.

It's the same on/off switch crap with this team. I'm tired of seeing Milan Lucic cruising around like it's an open skate. I'm tired of forwards that don't move in the neutral zone to help the defensemen break out. I'm tired of seeing Julien forced to put Jordan Caron on the ice in a Power Play because Lucic and Nathan Horton are lollygagging.

This team now sits in first place in their division. And that's great. But after a game like this it's difficult to be happy. The Bruins had this game in the palm of their hands, and they nearly dropped it. One unfortunate bounce in the last 37 seconds and they might have lost a point.

And the Devils aren't an elite opponent. They're a borderline playoff team, struggling through injuries.

The Bruins host the Islanders tonight. The Islanders are in a tight playoff race, 6th through 10th in the Eastern Conference are covered by 4 points. The Islanders are tied for 7th and are 11-5-2 on the road. The Bruins will need to play a full game, and not just parts of a game.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Julio Cortez