TOUGH HOCKEY PLAYER

Brendan Witt of the New York Islanders played last night in Philadelphia after being hit by an SUV in the morning.

Story:

"The truck [a GMC Yukon] was making an illegal left turn and Witt jumped and slid across the hood before hitting the pavement. Witt brushed himself off and reassured the crowd who'd begun to gather around him by whipping out his credentials: "I've got to go play some hockey. I'm a hockey player. I'm OK. No big deal." After almost being scratched for tonight's game against the Flyers, Witt did end up making it to Starbucks and grabbing a latte."

Witt played 17 minutes in the Islanders' 6-2 loss that night. He had 2 blocked shots, and 2 penalty minutes. The GMC Yukon is listed as day-to-day.

ELITE EIGHT

The Celtics pushed their win-streak to 8 last night with a 98-89 victory over the Bucks. Four C's had double figures, with KG leading the way with 25. Pierce and Perkins each had 15, Sheed and Ray Ray each added 13, and Rondo had 11 points to go along with his 13 assists.

Winning games against Milwaukee isn't too exciting, but it's necessary. You absolutely have to win these games against these teams, especially at home. But after the game, Doc Rivers did address the Celtics' relatively poor rebounding prowess:

"We can get away with winning now, but we're not going to win in the long run if we don't start rebounding."

Celtics at the 7-12 Wizards Thursday night.

Source:
ESPN

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

SOX SIGN ATCHISON, YANKEES ABOUT TO SIGN GRANDERSON

The Red Sox off-season, thus far, has been nothing short of uninspiring. Dull, even. The blatantly planted story about the Red Sox' "full-court press" for Roy Halladay was nothing more than a tease, something to satisfy Sox fans' voracious new appetite for big acquisitions.

The Red Sox made a minor addition yesterday, signing journeyman reliever Scott Atchison. He's 33 years old, a righty, and pitched last year for the Hanshin Tigers of Japan's Central League.

He's spent a limited portion of his 10 year professional career in the Majors. Only 53 MLB appearances to be exact, spread out between the Mariners and Giants in '04, '05, and '07. Don't expect much from him.

Meanwhile, the Yankees seem to be on the verge of signing Curtis Granderson. Granderson hit 30 HRs last year, albeit with a .249 average. I don't think he's that great, and wouldn't want him on the Sox, but my point is that while the Red Sox bolster AAA Pawtucket's bullpen depth, the Yankees are actually doing something.



How cheap the Red Sox are being with Jason Bay is inexcusable. Then again, they painted themselves into this financial corner these past few years. We shouldn't give them a free pass for the freedom with which they've spent recently.

$47.8 million of the $122 million the Sox spent last year went to JD Drew, David Ortiz, Mike Lowell, and Daisuke Matsuzaka. That's 39% of a very large payroll, assigned to a DL addict, a PED addict, an aging corner infielder, and a guy who can't pitch past the 5th inning.

I remember the '07 World Series parade, and how we all chanted "Re-Sign Lowell!" We were just as dumb and sentimental as the Sox front office was. And now all of us are paying the price for paying these guys.



I don't mind losing a bidding war to New York. Or at least I don't criticize the Red Sox for not having as much money as the Yankees. But I do mind self-elimination from even trying to win a bidding war, because JD Drew and Daisuke Matsuzaka have $22.3M coming to them.

I sincerely doubt the Sox will do much this off-season. They'll do something, similar to the Scutaro signing, then hype it a la Dan Duquette when he signed Jose Offerman. But the real big winter for the Sox will be the 2010-2011 off-season, when money will be freed up, and the free agent crop will be much healthier (ahem! get Mauer, move Youk to 3B, V-Mart to 1st, ahem!).

Sources:
Boston Globe
WEEI
The Baseball Cube
ESPN

BRAD PENNY TO GET 750 MILLION PENNIES

Or $7.5 million. That's what the Cardinals are going to pay Penny this season. The 31 year old struggled in Boston, but flourished in San Francisco. Last year, the Cardinals took another struggling ex-Red Sox in John Smoltz and turned him around. Penny was 4-1 in 6 starts for the Giants, compiling a 2.59 ERA.

Source:
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

BOSTON COLLEGE VS. USC IN EMERALD BOWL

Normally, an Emerald Bowl berth is yet another ho hum Boston College post-season appearance. But when it's up against USC, that's no longer the case. Thanks to USC's 4 losses, the Emerald Bowl was able to snag USC. The Trojans had been in the BCS for 7 straight years.

It's a bit of a rematch, and a bit of a preview. BC's basketball team was eliminated by USC in the Tournament last March. And these two football teams will meet in 2013 (in California) and 2014 (in Boston).

This is great news for Boston College, who achieved an unexpected 8-4 record. Even without a win, this game will bring a lot of attention locally and nationally. Attention=recruits. Recruits=winning. Winning=more attention. More attention=more recruits.

The game will be December 26th at AT&T Park (where the Giants play) in San Francisco.

THE BIPOLAR BEARS

This is about the Bruins and their manic-depressive swings in quality of play, not about sexually curious polar bears.



The Bruins played two games this weekend. On Saturday, they played hockey against the Maple Leafs. I'm still trying to figure out exactly what kind of sport they tried playing Friday in Montreal.

It's time to build your vocabulary...

Hubris (hju:brɪs) -Noun:
Overbearing pride or presumption; arrogance

The Bruins' arch-rival is hubris, not the Canadiens. This is what led to their downfall in Quebec. This is what turned a 7-0 game into a 7-2 game on Saturday. Overconfidence, resulting in relaxation.



To be fair, when the Bruins are at their best, they're calm and collected. Calm isn't a long trip away from relaxed. Calm hockey is winning hockey. But relaxed hockey is losing hockey.

The B's made countless mistakes on Friday, and they paid for them. They got a wake up call, showed up on Saturday, and scored 7 goals. Then they relaxed a bit, and let Toronto score twice in 2 minutes.

I remember last season, I'd kind of dread the Bruins going up by 3 goals in a game. It seemed like when they were tied, up 1, or up 2, they played excellent hockey. Up 3, and they tried to play "prevent hockey" which absolutely does not exist. And after sweeping Montreal in the playoffs, their overconfidence seemed to hurt them in the Carolina series.

The good news is, the Bruins are having to deal with hubris. Hubris is a byproduct of winning, and that's what the B's are doing. It's sort of like going broke buying condoms because you're getting laid more than Wilt Chamberlain. It's an enjoyable predicament, but it still needs to be addressed at some point, or tragic downfall in the Greek theatrical sense will follow. For that calmed confidence that results in win's like Saturday's can also lead to relaxed losses like Friday's

In a weird scheduling quirk, the Bruins host the Maple Leafs again on Thursday.

Source:
ESPN

Photo Credits:
AP Photo

ROAD KILL... AGAIN

The Patriots haven't won in any place that didn't have "England" in its name. Their only "road" win came against the Buccaneers in London. The Patriots have traveled to and lost in Miami, Denver, New York, Indianapolis, and New Orleans.

In another extension of season long themes, the Patriots struggled in the Red Zone.

I'm hearing some people criticize the defense. I've been hearing it for weeks. And I'll concede that the Patriots don't have a "championship defense." That is, their defensive unit isn't going to smother an opponent, keep them under 20 points, and allow for the Patriots to win with field goals.



This travesty, and others like it, are the offense's fault. In the 4th quarter, the Patriots had 4 possessions. Two of them were 3 and outs, two of them ended with interceptions. The inability to run the ball with a lead in the 4th is an inexcusable liability. And Brady in the Red Zone is becoming a joke.



I don't want to see Laurence Maroney in a Patriot uniform again. Period. He sucks. He's so inconsistent, so unreliable. The running game is supposed to be the conservative foundation of an offense. The Patriots don't need a 1,000 yard rusher. They don't need Adrian Peterson or Cedric Benson. They don't need a show horse, they need a mule. Someone to CONSISTENTLY get 3 yards, maybe 4. Someone to make 3rd downs a manageable 5 yards. Maroney belongs on "Dancing With the Stars," not the Patriots roster.



Then there's Brady. I can't let him off the hook. He's forcing it. He isn't smooth, he isn't confident. Is it residue from the leg injury? Is it a lack of faith in the offense? Is it the single-dimensionality of Randy Moss? Is it the lack of the running game? It's all of the above. But it's his fault more than anything. Red Zone interceptions are a cardinal sin, and he's thrown two already this season.



It's time to make a move on Charlie Weis. Offer him $3 million, his own twinkie factory, anything. Weis or someone who can design a creative, aggressive, and UNPREDICTABLE offense. Opponents know what the Pats are doing before they do it. In the NFL, that's an unassailable advantage. It's like playing poker with a marked deck.

The Panthers come to town on Sunday, in what is sadly a must-win for the Pats, who lead the AFC East by a mere game.

Source:
ESPN

Photo Credit:
Associated Press

XAVERIAN 29, EVERETT 0

For the first time since 1998, Xaverian Brothers High School won the Division 1 Championship last night with a dominating shutout over Everett. The victory completed a 13-0 season for the Hawks, the best record in program history. On their way to this accomplishment, Xaverian beat powerhouse Brockton twice, Everett twice, Division 1A runner-up Bridgewater-Raynham, and even played a game in New Jersey against Hudson Catholic, winning 42-0. The Hawks defense allowed a mere 11.6 points per game this season.

The other Super Bowl winners at Gillette Stadium yesterday:

Division 1A: Gloucester
Division 2: Reading
Division 2A: Marshfield
Division 3: Bishop Feehan
Division 3A: Austin Prep
Division 4: Whittier
Division 4A: Austin Prep