BRUINS' PLAYOFF TV SCHEDULE

The Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series against the Sabres will start in Buffalo on Thursday night. Here's the schedule for the series:

Day - Date - Opponent - Time - TV
Thu - 4/15 - @ Buffalo - 7:00pm - NESN
Sat - 4/17 - @ Buffalo - 1:00pm - NBC
Mon - 4/19 - v. Buffalo - 7:00pm - NESN/Versus
Wed - 4/21 - v. Buffalo - 7:00pm - NESN/Versus
If necessary:
Fri - 4/23 - @ Buffalo - 7:00pm - NESN
Mon - 4/26 - v. Buffalo - 7:00pm - NESN
Wed - 4/28 - @ Buffalo - 7:00pm - NESN

We'll have previews of this series, as well as the 7 other playoff series.

CARL PAVANO?

Not a fun game at all for the Sox. Lester labored, the offense was absent, Pavano cruised, and Joe Mauer was Joe Mauer.

The good news is that David Ortiz put a good swing on a ball in the 4th, driving an opposite field double, and knocking in a run. But that's about all the good news from this one.

I'm not going to fret too much about Lester's inconsistent afternoon. He struggled at the start of last season before settling in as the staff's Ace. I'll give him and Beckett a leash because they have a history of starting troubles.

I think it's good that the Twins finally have a real ballpark. I went to the Rogers Centre a few years ago, with the roof closed, and it just didn't feel like baseball. Baseball and summer are so intertwined that to play it indoors is perverse.

Game 2 of the series is Wednesday at 1:10. Lackey vs. Kevin Slowey.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

BOOK REVIEW: RED SOX BY THE NUMBERS

I've been sent books to review by publishers in the past. And often I refrain from reviewing them because it wouldn't be very polite. But this book was different.

It was a pleasure to read this. There's been a tidal wave of of Sox literature since 2003, but this book truly stands out. It was easy to read yet still involved and interesting. You can pick it up and open to any random page, or speed through it cover to cover as I did. Even the Red Sox fan that thinks they know everything will learn something new from Red Sox by the Numbers. As the introduction states: "The idea of the book is to have a little fun and learn something about your team you never knew. Or forgot."

It's formatted in a very accessible way. Each chapter represents a uniform number. There's a list of all the players to don each number. Then the chapter itself details some of more interesting owners of the number. Chapter 17, for instance, discusses Mel Parnell, Dick Radatz, Marty Barrett, Cecil Cooper, Bret Saberhagen, Herb Pennock, Manny Delcarmen, and a few more guys.

At the end of each chapter, there's a "Most Obscure Red Sox Player to Wear #x" stub. Example: Pitcher Harley Hisner wore #24 in one game at the end of the '51 season. He gave up Joe DiMaggio's last career hit, struck out Mickey Mantle, and got a basehit himself. It was his first and last Major League game.

There's a ridiculous amount of interesting data. The authors did the hard work of researching these facts (Doug Mirabelli has worn #28 the longest. That number's been issued to 58 different players/coaches). I had no idea that Gene Conley played for both the Red Sox and the Celtics until I read this book, or that Darren Lewis played 2,410 innings before making his first error.

This book seems perfect for any level of Sox fan. For the newb who wants to dive right in. For the casual fan looking to be entertained by the oddities and nuances of the game. For the lifer looking to bolster their arsenal of obscure and interesting facts. There are several people on my Christmas list who'll be receiving copies of this book in a few months.

Book info:
Red Sox by the Numbers
A Complete Team History of the Boston Red Sox By Uniform Number
By Bill Nowlin and Matthew Silverman
Skyhorse Publishing Paperback Original
ISBN: 978-1-60239-995-2
On Sale: March 1, 2010
Price: $14.95

BC WINS NATIONAL TITLE... AGAIN

The NCAA Hockey Championship trophy should be awarded in February, to the Beanpot winner. Because for the last 3 years, the winner of Boston's hockey championship, has gone on to win the National Championship. BC in '08, BU last year, and now BC in 2010.

The BC Eagles took a 1-0 lead into the 3rd Saturday night against the Wisconsin Badgers. They dominated the period, and finished with a 5-0 victory. Their 2nd title in 3 years, their 3rd of the decade, their 4th all-time, and Jerry York's 4th in what's becoming a legendary career behind the Eagles' bench.



BC's season was reminiscent of their 2007-08 title campaign. They started off in 2nd or 3rd gear, not disappointing, but not stunning. In January, they lost to BU at Fenway Park. They then finished the regular season 11-4-1, 2nd in Hockey East, won the Beanpot, and were ready for the postseason. They were 12-0-1 in their last 13 games, defeating top teams like UNH, Yale, Miami, and ultimately Wisconsin. They scored 67 goals in that 13 game stretch, 5.15 a game.

BC will lose some talent to graduation and to the professional ranks, but they'll return plenty of quality players. Goalie Jon Muse, for example, will go into his senior season with 2 national titles and an 8-0 NCAA record under his belt. If the Blue Jackets don't call him up, Cam Atkinson will go into his junior year. He scored 2 in the National Championship game, and 30. Remember, BC only played 42 games, so that's the equivalent of a 60 goal season in the NHL.

BC's other two big sports - football and basketball - have had recent head coach drama. And both have a reputation for underperforming in big games, and games they should win. But BC Hockey doesn't have that problem. In this decade (2001 to now), they won 4 Beanpots, 4 regular season Hockey East titles, 5 Hockey East tournament titles, made the NCAA tourney 8 times, made the Frozen four 6 times, and won 3 National Championships.

This is far and away the best hockey program in the country.



Photo Credits:
Melissa Wade
Andrew Weber

BRUINS WIN THEIR WAY INTO PLAYOFFS

The Bruins took care of their own business this weekend, clinching a playoff berth with a 4-2 win over Carolina. To add an exclamation point to that, they went down to Washington and beat the Caps 4-3 in overtime.

The big story from Saturday's win was how the Bruins scored 3 goals. Not only were all 3 scored in a 64 second stretch, they all came shorthanded. It was an NHL record for the most goals scored in one power play by the penalty killing team. It doubled the B's shorthanded total of the season.

But the two goals allowed served as poignant reminders of their inconsistent ways. The first was a wrap-around that Johnny Boychuk could have stopped before it started. The second came from a series of turnovers in the defensive zone, as the Bruins failed to properly formulate their breakout attempts.

At the same time, the referees had an awful game. It was NBA quality officiating, the most notable example being an early whistle when a poorly positioned ref lost sight of the puck in Cam Ward's pads (he was in the corner behind the net, so half of Ward's body was obstructed, yet he was faster on the draw than Clint Eastwood in the Dollars Trilogy). Bergeron slapped in the loose puck, but the ref had blown his whistle and the call.

Bergeron also had the play of the night. On a delayed penalty, Rask skated off for the extra attacker, and an unfortunate carom off the boards sent the puck on a path toward the empty net...



The Sunday afternoon win in Washington was nice, but I wouldn't think too much of it. Both teams had their #2 goalies in net. Both teams leaned on their younger players. Recchi, Bergeron, Chara, and Sobotka all got the day off. But the good news was that Michael Ryder woke up and scored twice. He actually looked confident and firm with the puck. In the previous 22 games, Ryder had scored 1 goal, and only had 5 assists in that stretch.

The Bruins finished the season with 91 points, their 3rd consecutive year with 90+. They haven't had three straight years with 90+ points since 1984. It's hardly a parade-worthy achievement, but when you're a Bruins fan, you learn to enjoy the small triumphs.

It'll be the Bruins and Sabres. In depth preview forthcoming. But as a Bruins fan, you can't ask for a better match-up than that.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

SOX TAKE 2 OF 3 FROM ROYALS

It's hard to judge a team in April. It's even more difficult when they're playing the Royals. But I think based on preseason presumptions, as well as past performances, we can conclude a few things about the 2010 Red Sox:

#1: David Ortiz is struggling. His swings are ugly. He's slapping the ball, not driving it. His bat is out of control. He can still differentiate between balls and strikes. But he's swinging and missing at pitches he used to hit for doubles and homeruns. He is 2 for 18. He's struck out 5 times and walked only once. I'm not saying this is permanent, but he is struggling, and it is KILLING the middle of the lineup.

#2: Adrian Beltre is NOT struggling. He knocked in 3 runs Sunday afternoon, and he's hitting .400. He's going the opposite way, and hitting the ball on a line in that direction. He's protecting the outside of the plate. He'll come down to earth, but right now he's hitting the ball as well as he's capable of hitting it (without PEDs, that is).

#3: The bullpen blows. It is a mess out there. Okajima and Bard blew Friday's game. And on Sunday it was Ramon Ramirez who turned a relaxing 8-3 Sunday afternoon into an 8-6 near nail-biter. If the Sox' starters don't go 7+, going to the bullpen will be like playing Russian roulette.

So those 3 things are clear. There's not much the Sox can do about #3 except maybe move somebody to the pen to shore things up. Or make a mid-season acquisition.

But there is something they can do about #1 and #2. They need to move Ortiz down to 6th or 7th. Beltre needs to be hitting 5th. Not just for the sake of demoting Ortiz, but when a guy like Beltre is hitting like he has, you have to take advantage of it.

Just ask yourself right now, this afternoon in Minnesota, trailing by a run in the 7th, Pedroia on 2nd, Youkilis on 1st, with 2 outs. Who do you want at the plate? David Ortiz or Adrian Beltre? To me, the answer is blatantly clear.

Sox and Twins this afternoon at 4:10. Lester vs. Carl Pavano.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Orlin Wagner

FROZEN FOUR RECAP

If someone had told me that 17 total goals would be scored in the two semi-final games, I'd nod and say "Sounds about right for college hockey." But 8-1 and 7-1 blowouts were quite unexpected.

WISCONSIN 8, RIT 1

Cinderella's carriage turned back into a pumpkin, and she also forgot to take her birth control pills (can't wait to use that one next March for basketball). Wisconsin was not lulled into a false sense of security, and gave an all out effort. RIT, on the other hand, seemed overwhelmed. Their Regional round success happened so quickly, they never had time to take it all in. But a 2 week layover, and having strange people from beyond I-490 writing blog posts about you probably influenced the Tigers' lackluster play. They had poor fundamentals, and made atypical mistakes with and without the puck. They needed a perfect game, knew they needed it, and forced themselves into mistakes. Nevertheless, they should be proud. They beat a pair of stacked teams in Denver and UNH, and got to play on a huge stage.

Wisconsin looks utterly lethal.

BC 7, MIAMI (OH) 1

While a blowout could be expected in the opening game, this was an absolute shocker. Miami had the best team GAA in the country, an anemic 1.84. Their two goalies were #1 and #2 in the nation in GAA. They haven't allowed 7 goals in a game since October of 2004.

Against speedy BC, one strategy is to keep the play along the boards. Force BC into a physical contest along the walls, a series of one-on-one battles. But it can be a double-edged sword. If you fail to keep them pinned against the glass, there's tons of open ice in the middle for them to maneuvre. And that's where BC's first 3 scores came from, all from wide open forwards standing in a 4' x 4' area atop the high slot. A goalie change kept Miami in the game for a bit, but BC wore them out, counter-attacked, and simply couldn't miss.

Miami managed only 18 shots on net, and BC goalie Jon Muse improved his NCAA tournament record to a staggering 7-0.

This will be the 10th ever appearance for BC in the National Championship Game, the 7th under Jerry York, the 7th in 13 years, and the 4th in 5 years. But Wisconsin is no stranger to the big game either, the Badgers beat BC in the 2006 final, and have 6 titles of their own.

This is going to be an exciting clash. Jerry York's Eagles are fast and efficient with the puck. They play solid defensive hockey, draw penalties, and rely on steady goaltending. Wisconsin is more balanced, and more physical. But Miami and other victims of BC have shown what being overly physical can result in.

I believe in Jerry York, and a 4-3 Eagles win, but it's an extremely close call. Saturday, 7pm, ESPN. Don't miss it.

Photo Credits:
Jim Rosvold

BRUINS USE SABRES TO SLICE INTO PLAYOFFS

With the season-long ineptitude of the offense, and with the absence of Stuart and Seidenberg, there are three Bruins who have to bear a heavy load carrying this team into the postseason: Rask, Chara, and Wideman. And all three came through last night.

Rask continued his stifling dominance of Buffalo. The only goal he allowed was on an open ice breakaway. He made several point-blank stops that demonstrated his poise, awareness, and positioning. In a Bruins/Sabres postseason match-up, Rask is the Bruins' Ace in the hole.

Chara is the only Bruin who had a career year last season, to continue that success into this campaign. He had another fantastic night at the blue-line, despite being his face being encased in the full mask to protect his recently broken nose. Chara had 30:20 of ice time. That's astonishing. Remember, he'll need post-season surgery, and also played a few games for Slovakia.

Dennis Wideman got some boos early on. But I'll defend his giveaway that sprung Derek Roy for Buffalo's opening goal. It was a foolish play, but I'll give credit to Wideman for taking a chance and trying to help out his team's struggling offense. It was dumb to give the puck up with a scorer like Roy in the area, but I'll give Wideman an A for aggressiveness.

And thank God for Miroslav Satan.

The Bruins treated this like a playoff game and won. Albeit against a Buffalo team that treated this as a pre-playoff warm-up (no Vanek, no Miller). The important thing is, the Bruins now control their own destiny. A win Saturday (or Sunday), just 2 points, and the B's make the playoffs. In fact they're currently 6th, thanks to Carolina crushing Montreal 5-2. Here are the standings:

Team - Games Remaining - Points
6. BOSTON - 2 - 87 points
7. Montreal - 1 - 87 points
8. Philadelphia - 2 - 86 points
------------------------------
9. NY Rangers - 2 - 84 points

The Rangers and Flyers play each tonight. If the Rangers lose in regulation, the Bruins clinch a spot. If the Bruins win both their games this weekend, they secure the 6th seed.

Bruins host Carolina Saturday afternoon, then play in Washington Sunday afternoon.

Source:
ESPN


Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Charles Krupa