BLACK AND YELLOW vs. RED, WHITE, AND BLUE

Athletes occasionally say some pretty stupid things. But Rashard Mendenhall has surpassed them all. Here are some of his tweets after US Special Forces killed Osama Bin Laden:

"What kind of person celebrates death? It's amazing how people can HATE a man they have never even heard speak. We've only heard one side..."

I've heard him speak. He puts out videos all the time, talking about how he wants to kill me. He'll probably keep putting videos out even though he's dead, Tupac style.

"We'll never know what really happened. I just have a hard time believing a plane could take a skyscraper down demolition style"

I think anyone of reasonable intelligence knows what happened. A pair of 176,000 pound 767 planes flying at 520 miles per hour can do some serious damage. Even to a big building. I know Mendenhall majored in sports management at Illinois, but I for some reason question his credentials when it comes to physics. Call me crazy.

This isn't about the Steelers, this is about an idiot being an idiot. And it just pissed me off. I used to like Mendenhall, even though he was on the Steelers. Now, I hate him almost as much as Big Ben.

SOX CONTINUE OWNERSHIP OF ANGELS

The Red Sox own the Angels. The Sox are now 14-15 overall, and more than a third (5) of those wins have come against Anaheim. And I'll take that. Because wins are at a premium right now.

Another Quality Start from Lester, his 6th straight. He's just so solid that it's unreal. Pretty much every start, he'll give the a team a good chance to win.

Crawford is finally hitting. That average of his is up to .194, close to the Mendoza line, close to his weight (215). The Sox finally hit some homeruns. Gonzales got his long-awaited 2nd homer, and that's a big relief. Ortiz got his second in 2 days, and Scutaro hit his first of the season.

Unfortunately, the Sox only have 2 more games against Anaheim this season, both this week. And until they consistently win games against teams that aren't the Angels or Blue Jays, I'm not going to fully believe that they've turned any corners. They're 8-1 against the Angels and Jays. 6-14 against everyone else.

Beckett faces 1-3 Ervin Santana tonight.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

TALENT BEATS EXPERIENCE

It was probably unfair that here in Boston LeBron once had a reputation as a poor playoff performer. Last year he ran into the Celtics' defense, who held him to 26.8 points per game in the series, which is hardly shameful. He had no supporting cast. Until now. And as detestable as he is, you have to give him and the Heat credit.

I just think Miami is more talented than the Celtics. Which doesn't mean they'll walk away with this series. But it does mean that the C's have to play their absolute best every night. They need to put the youthful, inexperienced Heat into tough situations. The C's swept the Knicks despite never dominating them, because they were much better in the last 60 seconds of close games. During the regular season, the Celtics beat the Heat by being better at the end of close games.

Ray Allen was 2 for 7, which is a bad percentage, and not nearly enough shots. He's been the driving force of the Celtics offense. If he's not getting shots, let alone hitting them, the Celtics have an uphill struggle. And likely won't win.

Last night was Rajon Rondo (20 points, 12 assists) vs. the Heat. And the Heat were better. Pierce was absent, KG was just OK, and while Jeff Green scored 11 off the bench, the Celtics are missing Perk's defense.

The C's need to step up at home. Allen needs to get open. Pierce and Garnett need to wake up. They need to keep things close at the end. Put some heat on the Heat. Miami struggled to close out tight games this year. They don't know where to send the ball, which one of their stars should get the key shot. The Celtics, on the other hand, distribute it with ease in those clutch moments.

I think the C's will win Game 3 and make this an interesting series. Game 3 is a long ways away, Saturday night at the Garden.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

FAN RUNS ON FIELD, SECURITY RUNS FAN INTO FIELD

You have to love the security guy getting cheered as he returns to his post. Perfect form on that tackle.

THOMAS SAVES THE DAY (52 TIMES)

#46 may have scored the game-winner, but it was the 46 straight saves made by Tim Thomas that truly won this game for the Bruins. The Flyers dominated the 3rd period and the Overtime, outshooting the Bruins 32-12 in that span. But Thomas was impenetrable. Finally, a miscue by Kimmo Timonen, plus plenty of open ice because half of each team was changing, gives Krejci the chance to win the game. And it was a perfectly placed shot.

Krejci and Thomas were obviously the stars of the game, but let's not forget Dennis Seidenberg. He was a well deserved +3, on the ice for all three of the Bruins' goals. In Game 1, he made an impact on offense. Last night, he made an impact on defense. So many big clears, poke checks, hits, battles won. He's +7 in this series, and there's a reason for that.

Krejci has been producing. As are the 2nd and 3rd lines, which each provided a goal last night. Horton's been an OT hero. Now, if only we could find Milan Lucic. Where is he? It's been 9 playoff games without a goal. And he ended the regular season riding a 10 game scoreless streak. 6 assists in his last 18 games. And it's not as if he's focusing on his physical game, either. He's just a ghost on the ice. He was out there for 24 minutes. I noticed him for maybe 24 seconds.

And the Power Play is just sad to watch. Marchand scored his goal because he moved around, opening a passing lane for Bergeron to find. The Bruins' forwards need to move around, not just shift within their little zones of operation. Especially since the Flyers are focused on taking away the points. Sending Recchi or Bergeron up to the high slot might not be a bad idea, either. It'd either create room for the forwards down low or the defensemen on the blue-line.

I know, I know, I'm being negative. The B's just took 2 games from Philly in Philly. They've won 6 of 7. But I've seen this team go 2-0 up on the Flyers before.

Then again, we didn't have Tim Thomas before. Goaltending, by itself, cannot win an entire series. But it can steal a game. Thomas stole one last night. Thankfully it wasn't played in Quebec, or the Montreal PD would be after him.

Playoff series are frequently won by the slimmest of margins. Think about where Boston would be if they didn't score 3 OT goals against Montreal. Think about one OT shot by P.K. Subban bouncing off a skate and past Thomas. The Bruins would be golfing.

This series will be determined by something like goaltending (which favors Boston) or special teams (which favors Philadelphia). At the moment, however, Tim Thomas is the difference between these two teams.

Game 3 Wednesday night in Boston.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

BRUINS GROUND FLYERS

You have to be happy, as a Bruins fan. This team does have some differences from last year's. Tim Thomas, for instance. He made a huge stop early in the 3rd to keep it 1-1. If Philly takes a lead there, who knows how momentum swings. Krejci missed the last 4 games of the series last year, he had 2 goals and 2 assists. Seidenberg was also hurt, and he had a monstrous game, pinching in on offense.

Then there's newcomers like Horton, Campbell, and Marchand. Marchand looks better and better with each playoff game he plays.

But we went up 1-0 last year. The Flyers are not pushovers. They stay even-keeled, and they're already over this loss. These are not the Canadiens. The Canadiens could be affected by a 3 goal deficit, or an unfortunate sequence of events. The Flyers don't care.

The Bruins' Power Play is still painful to watch. Is there a rule that allows teams to decline a Power Play, I think the Bruins should do that. They struggle with entry, and when they do take the zone, they stand still.

I'm happy with this result. But it has to already be put in the past for the Bruins.

Game 2 tonight.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

MAGNIFICENT SEVEN

It was a little over a minute a minute after Horton scored the game-winner when I realized that I hadn't been breathing since the goal was scored. I was that excited, that relieved, that exhausted.

Now to the game. It was far from pretty for either team. Or for the refs. There was finally a goal scored while the Bruins had a man advantage. Unfortunately, it went the wrong way. The Canadiens dove a few times, got a few calls, but were eventually hurt by a dive. Then one of the Bruins' leaders made a silly mistake, the Habs capitalized, and to Overtime it went.

But it was Nathan Horton, a newcomer to the playoffs, who scored the winning goal. He scored 3 times in the series, and was the only first-liner to really imprint himself on this series. In the regular season, when Horton was scoring, the Bruins were nearly unstoppable. When he slumped, they had to grind games out. In other words, he's a key to the Bruins' success.

Beating the Canadiens is just extra sweet. Not only is it a rivalry with tons of history, but the Canadiens play a completely different style of hockey from the rest of the NHL. Habs fans bitch and moan about other teams playing dirty, not "playing hockey the right way," then the Canadiens dive and flop like a bunch of Brazilian soccer players. That's not hockey being played the right way. It was perfect justice that Hamrlik dove to steal a call, and Kelly took advantage of the 5-on-4 to score.

PK Subban is a hell of a hockey player. But his diving is just an embarrassment. He's a strong dude. Yet David Krejci apparently can manhandle him. So can Gregory Campbell. It's just sad to watch a talented player like that resort to such childish tactics.

While I'm thrilled to eliminate the Canadiens, there's still plenty of room for improvement that needs to be addressed by the time the Flyers series starts. The Power Play actually got worse last night. Not only did they fail to score, they allowed a goal.

The nature of the shorthanded goal was what pissed me off. The Bruins struggled with entry, so they tried a gadget play. Seidenberg's supposed to back-pass to Recchi in the center, which will cause the Montreal defenders to stand up at the blue-line. But Montreal was going to yield entry. There was no need for the trickery. And it was incorrectly timed anyway. The pass came too early, Recchi couldn't handle it, and Montreal tied the game with a shorthanded goal.

The Bruins are the first team to ever win a 7 game series without scoring on the Power Play.

Bergeron's penalty was also inexcusable. 180+ feet from his own net, late in a game, with a 1 goal lead, he doesn't need to be flailing his stick around like that.

The first line needs to show up. The big players need to make big plays. Krejci is useless. He had another golden opportunity tonight, with half a net to shoot at, but his backhander went way over the crossbar. Lucic made a smart pass to find Horton for the game-winner, but he's still floating, still waiting around for something to happen. He needs to make things happen. He used to seek contact. Now he's almost avoiding it.

The Power Play and first line need to contribute. The defense can't afford anymore giveaways. The Flyers are better than the Canadiens. Much better. Sure, the Flyers' goaltending is questionable, but their forwards are relentless. The Canadiens were dangerous on the PP and on the counter-attack. The Flyers are ALWAYS dangerous.

I'll revel in this victory for a few days. But the Flyers are next. Improvements need to be made. Meanwhile, the Canadiens can...

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

THERE WILL BE 7

NESN's Andy Brickley (whom I'm a big fan of) remarked that he didn't think the better team won last night. I don't know what game he saw, but I didn't see the Bruins as being the better team. Montreal didn't really dominate, but they never screwed up, never gave the Bruins big chances, and when the B's had opportunities, they were squandered. The Habs were the better team.

This game was questionably officiated. While I understand Lucic getting a minor, even a major, for what he did, I don't see how an ejection was justified. Lucic and the Bruins get punished because Spacek put himself in a vulnerable spot and Lucic didn't hold back a check. How many times have we seen the Canadiens pull back a check in this series?

Then again, what has Lucic done in this series? Was his absence the difference in this game? I don't think so.

The Bruins cost themselves a number of penalties on their own. Too many men. Later, a delay of game. These are perhaps the most avoidable penalties of all, and yet the Bruins committed them, and both led to 5-on-3 goals.

And let's not forget that the refs screwed up a call that would have resulted in a Canadiens goal. If anything, the Bruins got a bit of luck in this game.

Then the B's own Power Play, which continues to struggle. The Bruins are the only team in the playoffs not to score a PP goal. Think about that. Multiple teams are already eliminated, and they all scored a PP goal. Poor entry, poor possession, that's been the story with the Bruins on the man advantage.

Under Julien, the Bruins are now 2-8 when they can eliminate their opponent. That's 2-8 against teams they've already beaten three times. Julien, in his career, is 1-3 in Game 7s. I'm more than a little worried. Game 7 tonight.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo