CELTICS DECIDE TO TAKE AN EXTRA DAY OFF

In Game 1, an understandable fatigue was apparently responsible for the Celtics' lackadaisical play. In Game 2, they woke up and cruised to victory. In Game 3, it was once again nap time. In this case, however, there is no excuse.

The Magic shot 59.1% from the field. More disturbingly, they were allowed easy layups and dunks, especially in the 1st quarter.

Ray Allen once again had a subpar night, 3 for 13 shooting, 0 for 5 in three pointers, and only 8 points. Glen Davis also struggled, only 7 points and 3 rebounds.

But the C's put up 96 points. That should be enough to win. The C's held opponents to fewer than 96 points 18 times in last year's playoffs. I know without Garnett, such a feet is impossible to duplicate. However, one man doesn't make a good defense, it takes 5 men working together. The Celtics simply didn't do it last night.

Game 4 is Sunday night. It's not a must-win, but not winning will put the Celtics in a deep hole.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack

APPARENTLY ONLY ONE BOSTON TEAM CAN WIN PER NIGHT

Things seem to be falling apart for the Bruins. Or are they? I'm pretty pissed about the lack of control the Bruins have shown, and they certainly deserve to be down 3-1. But they aren't out. All that pre-game nonsense about Friday night's contest being a "must win" was bullshit. But clearly now, the Bruins are in a must-win situation.

Before I pepper the Bruins with my rage filled criticisms, let's remember how few breaks they got in this game. A pair of posts hit in the 1st (one by Kessel, one by Chara), as well as Cam Ward's guessing save on Axelsson's breakaway (he moved before P.J. shot the puck, and just so happened to guess right). The tempo of the game would have changed a great deal had the B's drawn first blood and been up 1-0, 2-0, or even 3-0.



Then there was Carolina's first goal. Jussi Jokinen flopped after David Krejci brushed him, the Canes got a power play, and Staal scored. Krejci shouldn't have given Jokinen a chance to flop, and also given the referees a chance to make a questionable call. But Krejci will get his abuse later in the post.

Carolina got a power play early in the 3rd thanks to a botched hooking call. To be fair to the refs, they've called a great series, and the game was 99% well-called, which is as good as it gets. But Chara didn't commit an infraction worthy of a power play. Carolina took advantage and Jokinen scored.

All this bad break business being said, THE BRUINS WERE THE ONES WHO LET THESE UNFORTUNATE EVENTS DESTROY THEM. Krejci could have avoided a penalty by not making contact with Jokinen from behind. After Chara committed the penalty, and Jokinen scored, it was only a 1 goal game, but the Bruins played like they were down by 4 or 5 scores.

From the 2nd period to the 3rd, I felt like a proud parent who watched his 20 children go from the honor roll to injecting heroin. The Bruins' 2nd period was their best period of hockey in this series. Outstanding forechecks, winning one-on-one battles, winning faceoffs, testing Ward, and dominating in all three zones.

Then in the 3rd, the B's let one bad thing (a penalty on Chara), turn into a worse thing (a goal), then into an even worse thing (17 minutes of atrociously sloppy hockey).

The Bruins' lack of experience is being exposed. But it's more than that. A few key players are trying too hard to be perfect, and are making costly mistakes.

Blake Wheeler:
He's sucked this series. His goal-scoring cooled off long ago, but he had always been a good two-way player on the 3rd line. I was glad to see him demoted to the 4th line, especially with how good Bitz looks. Wheeler seems to find himself offside at least once a game in a pivotal spot, spoiling a quality Bruins' offensive rush. He's also not taking full advantage of his size.



David Krejci:
How many times has he forced Tim Thomas to make unnecessary saves with turnovers near his own blue line? He is slow on offense, letting the puck get past him instead of being instinctive and opportunistic. He's sloppy in the neutral zone, giving the Canes additional chances.

Steve Montador:
He has single handedly raised my blood pressure to dangerous levels in this series. Too many giveaways, both pressured and unpressured. He also telegraphs his shots, allowing the Canes to set-up their shot-blocking counterattack.



Mark Stuart:
He's been mostly invisible, and he too has telegraphed his shots.

Stephane Yelle:
He's supposed to be a low-key, high percentage puck handler kind of guy. But he's turned the puck over quite a bit. He's sucked in the neutral zone, and been a ghost in the offensive zone. Apart from penalty killing, the lesser we see Yelle, the better.

On the bright side, Thomas is playing great. Michael Felger, and anyone who wants to suck-off Cam Ward while simultaneously criticizing Thomas need to be banned from Bruins games FOR LIFE. Thomas is the sole reason the Bruins had a chance in Games 3 and 4. And Cam Ward has been allowed to relax in his cage. The B's only got 21 shots on goal in Game 4 and 23 in Game 3.



I want to see more Byron Bitz in Game 5. Putting him on the 3rd line is great. Speaking of line juggling, I've never been a fan of Lucic alongside Kessel and Savard. You get Lucic trying too hard to be a fancy hockey player, and when he does win battles along the boards, Kessel and Savard aren't in the crease to take advantage of it. I'd like to see Lucic on the 2nd or 3rd line, and maybe even Axelsson or Recchi or Ryder on the 1st line. I'd prefer Lucic on the ice at the same time as Kobasew, so the two tough forecheckers can feed off each other, and help each other out.

If the Bruins play like they played for 25 or 30 minutes in Game 4, Carolina needs to get lucky to win. That's just the way it is. The Bruins have dug themselves this hole, but they're good enough to get out of it.

It's up to the 20 men in that locker room. They just need to play good solid hockey. It's not that complicated.



Game 5, Sunday night, in Boston, on Versus.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Gerry Broome
AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker

R.I.P. DOM DIMAGGIO

Dominic DiMaggio died today at the age of 92. DiMaggio spent his entire MLB career with the Red Sox, and was the youngest of three DiMaggio brothers in the Majors. He was one of the four legendary Teammates (the others being Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr, and Johny Peskey), and hit leadoff for the Sox in the 40s and 50s. In 11 seasons, he scored over 1,000 runs, had a .298 career average, .398 career OBP (wow!), was a 7 time All-Star (4 times as a starter), and 147 outfield assists.

MASS DESTRUCTION

The Red Sox did something that had only been done once since 1900: score 12 runs in an inning without recording an out. The Brooklyn Dodgers did it in 1953. It was a weird inning, to say the least. Start off down 2-1, a few walks, a few hits, and then the Sox are protecting an 11 run lead. Bizarre.

Wakefield was solid, 6 innings, 2 runs. He's actually been quite the rock for the rotation, all things considered.

Man of the Game: why not give it to Jason Bay again? 2 for 5 with a double, a homer, 4 RBI, 2 runs, and no female fertility pills.

Sox begin a series against the Rays this weekend, James Shields vs. Brad Penny Friday night.

Source:
ESPN.com

MANNY BEING SUSPENDED

Manny Ramirez has tested positive for performance enhancing drugs, and received a 50 game suspension from Major League Baseball. In other news, Manny apologist Bill Simmons has been hospitalized for severe dehydration due to crying so much once he heard this news.

I couldn't be happier with this suspension. Not only does Jason Bay have more RBI and HR than Manny this year, he also has fewer 50 game suspensions.

And how will Manny spend his time off? Drinking with Enrique Wilson? Shoving elderly Dodger employees around? Slapping teammates? Nursing that problematic hamstring injury? Talking about rejoining the Cleveland Indians?

Wait, I've got it. He'll do what he did when he faced Mariano Riveira in Yankee Stadium... just stand there and do NOTHING!!!




Source:
LA Times

HOUSE OF PAIN

I'm writing this recap of the Celtics game a bit late, so I'm probably the 1,000,000th person to use a horrible pun with the word "House" in it, but I could care less.

Orlando continued their lackluster play, which began in Game 1 when they let a 28 point lead dwindle to 3. This time, the Celtics didn't have to dig themselves out of a hole, they got to put Orlando in one.

In the playoffs, you need to get gamebreaking performances from unlikely sources, at least once or twice per series. Last night, Eddie House provided. 31 points off the bench, 4 for 4 in 3 pointers, 11/14 from the field. A vital 28 minutes from Eddie.

Rajon Rondo had yet another triple doubles, 15 points, 18 assists, 11 rebounds. After a sleepy night in Game 1, Rajon woke the F up. His third triple-double in the postseason. National Basketball Association, I introduce you to someone you've been ignoring: Rajon Rondo.

Ray Allen found his legs again, he was 7 for 15 from the field, with 22 points.

Scalabrine continues to have a good series, 8 points, 3 rebounds, +11. Not bad at all.

Orlando just doesn't scare me, and they never have. Their coaching is questionable, Howard is containable, Redick is a college player lost in the NBA. They just aren't a frightening playoff team.

I think they'll put up a fight down in Disney, but the Celtics should come back to Boston with a 3-1 lead, and I think if this series lasts longer than 6 games, it will be a miracle for the Magic.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Winslow Townson

WOW, THAT ONE HURT

The hockey gods are cruel, but fair. Do good things, they'll reward you. Do bad things, they'll destroy you. When the Bruins did good things like position bodies in the crease, they were rewarded with goals. When they committed sins, like turning the puck over deep in their own zone, they were punished with Carolina goals.

As good as Cam Ward, Eric Staal, Jussi Jokinen and the rest of the Hurricanes played, the Bruins lost this one. EVERY SINGLE CAROLINA GOAL CAME OFF TURNOVERS. And these were hardly forced turnovers. These were Brett Favre turnovers.

Carolina Goal #1:
This actually came off a turnover which came off a turnover. Bergeron made a silly pass at his own blue-line, Carolina had a lengthy possession in the Boston zone, getting 6 shots off (some were blocked, 4 weren't), and eventually Michael Ryder committed a penalty from all the pressure. On the ensuing penalty kill, Steve Montador tried to be a hero and smack the puck from his own goal line all the way up the ice. The wind-up allowed Eric Staal to make contact with Montador's stick. The clear attempt turned into a perfect centering pass for Staal, and he stuffed it home.

Carolina Goal #2:
Phil Kessel lost his handle on the puck, trying to take the blue line. No big deal, it happens, just recollect and try again. But he got a bit ahead of himself. Actually, he only got ahead of his left foot, but that caused his body to get ahead of the puck. He fell down, Carolina scooped up the loose puck, roared up ice with a 3 on 2 advantage and Sergei Samsonov wound up with the goal.

Carolina Goal #3:
After coming as close to scoring as a team in overtime can, Zdeno Chara and Stephane Yelle forgot how to play in their own zone. Chara lazily passed up the boards, Yelle never got it, Samsonov recovered the fumble, took it deep, drew Chara, shot it, and Jokinen slapped in the rebound.

Fucking painful. And I'm not trying to detract from Carolina's well-deserved win. I'm not attributing their victory to luck. They played a great game. But the Bruins could have stolen a victory in Raleigh, taken a 2-1 series lead, and retaken control.



As a true Bruins fan, it's hard not to be negative, and scared shitless. To be honest, how this team deals with such a loss, and such a crappy situation will be interesting to see. They're young, and they might fold faster than Superman on laundry day.

But the situation is not as bad as my black and gold (mostly black) vision makes it seem. The Bruins are down 2-1, but they're not facing elimination. If they win game 4, then it's suddenly a best of 3 series with the Bruins having home ice. And on the semi-bright side, they lost because of their own fuck-ups, not because Carolina is a more talented team.



The Bruins need to do 4 things in Game 4:
1) Plant someone in front of the net. When Lucic and Recchi were there, good things happened. The most frustrating part of watching tonight's game was when Bruin centering passes would fly through empty creases because nobody was home.



2) Score on the power play. 0 for their last 16 with a man advantage. The Hurricanes have taken away what the Bruins want to do on the PP, so it's time to crash the net. Punish Carolina for taking away the point shot from Chara and Wideman.

3) Pass from the point, don't shoot. Enough perimeter crap, it's not working. In fact, it's counterproductive. Chara winds up for a 100 MPH blast, the Canes get in position to block and go on the counterattack. Shoot when there's a bit of a lane, but when they try to block, shoot it off the boards to the side of the net, hope for a weird bounce that acts as an indirect centering pass.

4) The puck is a baby, take care of it. Don't give it to strangers, especially in your own fucking zone. High percentage passes ONLY, especially in your own zone, and the neutral zone. The defensemen in particular need to be faster when it comes to passing out of the zone. You can't take your time and allow a Cane to get in front of you, severely reducing your options.

I still love the Bruins chances in this series, but not if they play like they did for most of Game 3. In my opinion, had the Bruins won tonight, it would have been fortunate, even lucky, a nice win stolen on the road.

Game 4, Friday night, 7:30PM, it's on NESN. Not a must win, but it's close to it.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker
AP Photo/Gerry Broome

CAN WE PLAY THE YANKEES EVERYDAY?

How much of a dislikeable cunt is Joba Chamberlain? How would he pitch in the National League, if he had to take some medicine at the plate. His beanball of Jason Bay was clearly intentional, and props to Josh Beckett for not retaliating in last night's game. It wasn't the right time.

That being said, I'm a bit jealous. I wish our pitchers would throw inside and occasionally at the Rays. When Evan Longoria is able to dive out over the plate to turn on an outside fastball and hit it out of the park, something's wrong.

But back to Jason Bay, he's carrying this team. With Youkilis hurt (and now Ellsbury hurt), and Ortiz not hitting homeruns, Bay has provided the power and late inning heroics for this team. Bay has 1 more HR and 7 more RBI than Manny Ramirez. If I still cared about fantasy baseball, I'd probably be kicking myself for not drafting Bay in the middle rounds.

Beckett looked good, except in the 3rd inning. That's been a problem with him: one big inning. That could mean his problems have been more psychological than physical. Remember Falco's speach about quicksand in The Replacements?

It's nice to be 5-0 against the Yankees. Yanks fans will make excuses, like A-Rod being out. And that's fair. After all, April and May are A-Rod's best months.

The Man of the Game: Jason Bay.

The Indians come to town for 2 games (I'm sick of these dinky 2 game series) starting tonight. Justin Masterson takes on 1-3 Carl Pavano. The game is on NESN+.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Julie Jacobson