“It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.”
I have used that Dickens quote a bunch of times on this site, but it has never felt more appropriate than right now.
Sports-wise, Thursday night was the best of times. I’ve often blogged about my disdain for the city of Cleveland. Watching the Celtics eliminate the Cavs was the next best thing (for me) other than winning a championship. All year, we heard about how this was their year and that the city of Cleveland was finally going to win a championship for the first time since 1964. This was supposed to be the year in which the King finally got his crown.
A funny thing happened on the way to the coronation. What mostly everyone (including me) forgot, is that basketball is a team sport. While Cleveland had the best player in the series, they didn’t have the best team in the series. Somehow, the 2010 Celtics found a way to “flip the switch” and take their game to another level in the playoffs. It the best of times because I watched the game up in Maine with my brother. We went to a sports bar and (despite my best efforts to stay toned down), he said I was the loudest guy in the place. Along with my feelings for Cleveland, I’m blaming the Shipyard Summer Ale.
Sports-wise, Friday night was the worst of times. Watching the Bruins blow a 3-0 series lead to the Flyers was the worst feeling I’ve had watching sports since Super Bowl XLII. This one hurt and it was 2003 ALCS level hurt. It hurt even considering the Bruins have always been an afterthought for me when it came to Boston sports. There simply isn’t enough time in the day to follow all four teams as closely as I would like. To me, the Bruins became a victim of this time constraint. After the Olympics, however, things changed. For the first time since high school, I followed the Bruins closer than I followed the Celtics.
Ever since the NBA referee scandal, I’ve watched less and less of NBA basketball. Even in 2008, I almost stopped watching because the officiating was so bad. I lost my faith in the game. Seeing the Celtics go on that magical run that year put my concerns on the backburner. The great hockey during the Olympic games reminded me of how much I loved the sport. It reminded me of high school, when I watched almost every Bruins game. The Bruins are the only team I have ever skipped school for.
Even though the Bruins won the first three games of the Flyers series, I don’t see it as a choke (like the 2004 Yankees). The 2010 Flyers and the 2010 Bruins are two very evenly matched teams. The Bruins won Game 1 on an overtime goal. They won Game 2 on a Milan Lucic goal with three minutes left in the game. The Bruins were very fortunate to be up 3-0 in the series. In 2004 ALCS, the Yankees thoroughly outplayed the Red Sox during the first three games. There was no 19-8 blowout in the Bruins/Flyers series.
If you asked me before the Celtics and Bruins series which one I wanted more, without hesitation my answer would have been shaded green. Even with the immense enjoyment I got out of seeing Cleveland lose, I’m still pretty bummed out over the Bruins loss. Yesterday, the Celtics continued their inspired play by beating the Magic in Orlando. Even as the Celtics sit seven wins away from the NBA Championship, I still can’t get over the Bruins loss. It will probably take me a while before I do.
A few minutes ago, I begun the healing process. I logged on to the Bruins website and bought a brand new Bruins shirt. As soon as it arrives, I am going to wear the hell out of that shirt until September. It is going to be my reminder that the future is bright for the Bruins. In a little over a month, they will be selecting second in the NHL draft. With that pick, the Bruins will either select Taylor Hall or Tyler Seguin.
Tuukka (along with Taylor or Tyler) and the rest of the Bruins will be back.
I might have to rethink my “favorite time of the year” when it comes to sports. When the Celtics and Bruins are the in the playoffs, spring is a great time to be a Boston sports fan. Adding in the new, three night format of the NFL Draft has only exacerbated this fact. Right now, Boston is the only city with both a basketball team and a hockey team still alive in the playoffs.
Hub of the Universe, indeed.
Saturday is a perfect example of how this may be the most wonderful time of year. I started the day at Jerry Remy’s new sports bar (which might be my new favorite bar in Boston, btw) for the early start of the Bruins game, continued the day at an LSU alumni crawfish boil at the Baseball Tavern with some friends (where I met New England Patriot, Eric Alexander), headed to Devid’s house for the Celtics game and then ended the day at home watching the Mayweather/Mosley fight on illegal internet feeds. It was a perfect storm of fun, friends, family, and sports.
Let’s take a quick snapshot of the local teams, shall we?
RED SOX: This team is in trouble, folks. Even as the eternal optimist, I am struggling to find a silver lining to the start of this season. However, I can’t help but laugh when I think about this weekend’s irony of the Aquapocolypse.
If you don’t know, after every home Red Sox win they play “Dirty Water” by the Standells over the Fenway Park speaker system. It is also a rallying cry for circle-jerking (myself included) Red Sox fans after a win. The irony is even though the Red Sox got swept by the worst team in baseball, dirty water was literally prevalent in the lives of many Red Sox fans. H2OMG!
CELTICS: The youtube above is dedicated to the huge challenge the Celtics are facing right now. There is no doubt that LeBron James will be wearing multiple championship rings on his fingers when he retires. I only hope that the C’s can delay the coronation for at least a year.
BRUINS: This is the feel good story in Boston sports right now. All season they have dealt with a myriad of injuries, swine flu and even an injustice from the league regarding a cheap shot on Marc Savard. The best part about rooting for the Bruins is that we aren’t the 17-time NBA World Champions or the “Team of the Decade” football team or even the big market, recent two-time winning World Series baseball team. We’re just fans of a team that hasn’t won anything since 1972 and has been hit with a ton of bad luck this season. Furthermore, if you told me that Savard was going to score a playoff overtime game-winner in his first game back, I would have said you were crazy.
The Bruins, Celtics and Red Sox all play again tonight.
I’ve taken some heat lately for not updating the blog enough. Frankly, I think I do a good job here (this is entry #300, btw). It is very difficult to continually think of things to write about. It is even harder to think of those things while trying to maintain the standard I hold myself to.
In light of that thought, here’s a bonus weekend entry:
Because of David Ortiz’s press conference yesterday (and after re-reading my entry on the news), I’ve changed my stance on PEDs (performance enhancing drugs) and steroids.
I don’t care anymore and nobody being exposed for PEDs will surprise me anymore.
This is the steroid era of baseball. A fair amount of players in this era (and past eras, for that matter) are using or have used substances to enhance their performance. It is what they do. If given the opportunity to make the amount of money they do, I’d probably do the same. To me, there are no style points in professional sports; There are only wins and losses.
You’re probably thinking, “Great Mike. You don’t care, but what about people with kids? What kind of example does steroids (or PEDs for that matter) set for them?”
To that I say this:
If I had kids, I would tell them it is ok to watch sports, but professional athletes are NOT role models (as Charles Barkley once accurately proclaimed). We should not look to them to set our moral compasses by. They can do what they do, I’ll do what I do. I can look at that “man in the mirror” every day and feel comfortable with what I see. It is up to them to do the same, if they choose.
Professional athletes are people fortunate enough to have a God given ability to play (or coach for that matter) a game well. They get paid an exorbitant amount of money to play games we all used to played on the playground. Good for them, more power to them.
I would tell my kid (if I had one) that his/her mother was a role model, his/her Uncle John was a role model, our family and friends are role models and hopefully the majority his/her teachers are role models. Those are the people you should emulate and look up to, not professional athletes. We root for the laundry they wear, not the people who are in it.
All that said, could the Red Sox shoot up some PEDs and get me a win tonight?
Thanks to a friend (thanks Rick!), I was able to go to the Bruins game last night.There are few things in sports like a Game 7.Game 7 is the culmination of a hard-fought seven game series.It is every sports cliché all wrapped into one game.One game to decide a season’s worth of blood, sweat, and tears.
The game was amazing.It was the best hockey game I have ever been to – even before it went to overtime.It had everything.It was pulse-pounding, gut wrenching and near heart attack inducing. Hell, I was nervous during the break before overtime. The Garden was jumping and the energy in there was electric.It was an adrenaline-filled surge up until Carolina scored their game-winning goal in overtime.
Then, the place became quiet.
It was a deathly quiet, an eerie quiet. It was so quiet that I could hear the screams of jubilation from the Carolina players down on the ice – all the way up from the second to last row in the balcony.Think about that.17,000+ people.Silent.
After about 5-10 seconds of that stunned silence, the crowd began to cheer.It was an appreciative cheer for the effort the Bruins had given all season.It was the final curtain call for the 2008-2009 Bruins. It went on while the Bruins gathered at their bench and watched the Hurricanes celebrate on their home ice.
One of the great things about hockey is at the end of each playoff series both teams line up at the center of the ice and shake hands.I wish they did this in every sport.As I watched the Bruins and Hurricanes exchange pleasantries, I scanned the crowd around me.It was like a funeral in there.Some people slumped down in their seat, others muttered (“What an awful, awful feeling” – I heard someone say), a guy slammed his fist into his chair and faces of dejection surrounded me.
As goaltender Tim Thomas skated away from the handshake line, towards the exit, he raised his mask and waved to the crowd.The crowd cheered again.Without Thomas, the game would have been a Carolina rout.
I feel awful.Not so much for the season ending, but for the (few) true Bruins diehards I know. I am a Boston sports fan. I’ve been one since I knew how to root for a team. To me however, the Bruins always took a back seat to the Sox, Pats, and Celtics. Even though the first ticket to a sporting event I ever bought was to a Bruins playoff game in 1990, I did feel like an outsider rooting for them at times. There isn’t enough time in the week to passionately follow all four teams at once.
The diehards are the guys lived and died with this team.One of my diehard buddies brought a television to the AFC Championship game tailgate so he could watch the Bruins game.Another drove back to Montreal after watching Game 5 of this series so he could be back for morning classes the next day.This is a 4.5 hour drive!I felt so awful for those guys that I sent them texts apologizing for the loss.I had nothing to do with it, but I figured it was the least I could do for them.
I have to hand it to the Bruins.They had a very good season.They had the best record in the East, swept the dreaded Canadiens and were a goal away from advancing to the conference finals.Their most impressive accomplishment was that for three weeks, they stole the Boston sports spotlight.It was the 70’s all over again. They were the top sports story in the greatest sports city in the world, and they earned it.I even got caught up in it.I am not ashamed to admit that I watched the Bruins more than the Celtics over the past few weeks.
Riding down the escalator of the Garden to leave, I saw an older gentleman next to another man. They didn’t look alike, but must have been season ticket partner friends or something.The older gentleman let out a deep sigh and with a stern look on his face, turned to his companion and said:
“Well, I guess I will see you at game one next season.”
You sure will, good sir.
The Bruins will be back.
Have a great weekend, everyone! Make the most of every day.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Is it too early to call 2009 the worst year ever? Check back tomorrow and I’ll explain.
Before the first Celtics playoff game, each seat in the Garden was covered by a green t-shirt.On this shirt read the words, “Boston is a Brotherhood.”Although the t-shirt is an ad campaign for Adidas, it fits perfectly for the sports scene in this town.
Sunday night, the brotherhood was in full effect.Three Boston teams were playing: The Bruins and Celtics had crucial playoff games and the Red Sox had the Sunday night game of the week on ESPN.Three teams, three nationally televised games, one city, one Brotherhood.Sunday, the Brotherhood scored a trifecta of wins and I am still aglow over it.
There is always a special buzz in town when more than one of the teams is playing.One of the reasons I like to ride the subway is immersing myself in said buzz to and from sporting events.I’m a people watcher.I love hearing that excitement overflow out of the arena/stadium and out into the city itself.When there is more than one team playing, that excitement is all the more magnified.I love waking past someone in a subway station wearing the gear of the game I’m not going to.There’s usually a nod and a mutual understanding exchanged.It’s like two soldiers heading into two different battles of the same war.
On the night of the trifecta, I went to the Bruins game with Z and Megan.After a great dinner at Toro (fabulous tapas place, btw), we jumped into a cab to head over the Garden.As an aside, cabbies fascinate me.Whenever I get into a cab, I always grab the front seat so I can pepper the cabbie with questions.I have a standard list I like to use (How’s it going today? Ever pickup any celebrities? What’s your craziest story from driving a cab? etc.) but will vary it depending on the circumstance. After my interrogation, Z told me that he thought the cabbie was going to punch me in the face. Not Brotherhood.
The Bruins game was outstanding.Z scored amazing seats 6 rows from the ice.Sitting that close, I have a new appreciation for NHL hockey.The game is so fast, much faster than I had originally thought.Also, there is a lot more trash talking going on between the players than I ever imagined.Hockey is so much better in person than on TV.If the great hockey game wasn’t enough, it was only the first leg of the trifecta. Such is life in the Brotherhood.
The crowd was great.It had a sense of urgency that all elimination games do.As I repeatedly checked the scores of the other two games on my iPhone, I could feel (and hear) the people behind us repeating the scores to each other.For many Boston sports fans, their hearts were in three different places Sunday night. The Brotherhood may have been spread out, but it never can be divided.
After the game, I headed over to a bar named Porters to meet up with some other friends.As I walked over, you could hear the chatter about the other games.As we passed one bar, everyone walking by peered in the windows to catch a glimpse of the score of the Celtics game.Each group that passed had at least one of its members peer in, get the score, and share it with the others.Such is life in the Brotherhood.
Upon arriving at Porter’s, my attention quickly shifted from hockey to basketball mode and I was able to catch the last nine minutes of the Celtics game.As we watched the tense ending, I noticed that some of the kitchen workers came out from the back to catch the very end of the game.In the Brotherhood, when the game is on the line, everything else stops.As Big Baby’s game-winning jumper fell through the hoop, eruptions happened all over Boston, Orlando and the country as Celtics fans everywhere rejoiced.I even high-fived said kitchen workers. Brotherhood, indeed.
Across town in Fenway Park, a huge cheer when up as the shot fell through.It was so loud that Tampa Bay batter Pat Burrell had to step out of the batter’s box (great clip of it here).Burrell asked the ump if the cheer was from the hockey game and the ump told him it was from the basketball game.Burrell was surprised that both Boston teams were still in.He clearly didn’t know the vast reach of the Brotherhood.
About 40 minutes later, Jonathan Papelbon completed the trifecta by strking out three batters in the ninth inning.I knew the Sox had won by a one word text from Z simply stating “trifecta.”I slumped down in my seat on the subway car with an exhausted smile and contemplated the feat that our teams had just accomplished: Two teams took huge strides forward in advancing to their next perspective rounds and one team scored a big victory against last year’s division champs. Not a bad night for the Brotherhood.
Stock up on batteries for the remote, because all three teams play again tonight.
“Everyone is sick of Boston being the center of the entire goddamn sports universe.”
Sorry America. To quote Bill Belichick, it is what it is.
New England Patriots: The Pats have exactly 830 draft picks in this weekend’s NFL Draft. I love the NFL Draft. I am an NFL draft geek and once spent a whole weekend in my dorm room watching the entire draft. I think championships are won on draft day and I think rounds two and three are much more important than round one.
Boston Bruins: The current darling of the Boston sports scene. They advanced past the first round for the first time since 1999 by sweeping the dreaded Montreal Canadiens. This was a welcome change after suffering three straight playoff defeats at the hands of Les Habitants. Next victim? The New York Rangers. Speaking of New York…
Boston Red Sox: After their 2-6 start, I posted on my facebook page that I thought that the Sox would win 95 games this season. This was immediately mocked more than it was supported. Since then, the Red Sox have won their past seven games and have become the hottest team in baseball. Just sayin…
This weekend they host the Evil Empire for a good news/bad news series. The good news is that the series is in Fenway, not the launching pad otherwise known as the new Yankee Stadium (or Coors Field East). The bad news is that the Yankees will not be bringing their ace from last season, Cheng-Ming Wang. Wang has had a penchance for giving up “long balls” and has ERA of 34.50 (not an exaggeration).
A funny side note about C-M Wang: He needs to throw 47 consecutive scoreless innings to get his ERA down to his career average (3.90).
Boston Celtics: Suffering injuries to Kevin Garnett and Leon Powe, the C’s smoked (understatement) ‘da Bulls in Chicago last night to retake home court advantage and gain a 2-1 series lead. I was out for drinks with my friend Jackie and didn’t see much of the game (save for some squinting glances across the room at the ever-increasing Celtic lead), but thankfully, it looks like I didn’t miss much.
The rumors of the Celtic demise have been greatly exaggerated.
Don’t count out the champs.
Have a great weekend, everyone! Make the most of every day.
This is one of my favorite times of the year.The Red Sox chicken littles are out crying about the team even though there are over 150 games left to play.The same people whining about them now will be singing their praises come the fall.One of my favorite pastimes is laughing at these people as they cry over April baseball.I think the 2009 Red Sox will win somewhere in the neighborhood of 95 games and their 2-6 (GASP) start will be but a memory six (!!) months from now when they are playing in October.
Springtime in Boston is infinitely better when the Bruins and Celtics make the playoffs.There is a buzz in the air and the New Garden/Shawmut/Fleet/TD Banknorth Garden/TD Garden will be rocking for the next few weeks (hopefully months).The buzz will spread to the subway, Dunkin Donut lines and the water coolers in offices all across the region.On Saturday, we get a rare Boston trifecta: The Sox, B’s and C’s are all playing at home on the same day.
The Bruins return to the playoffs tonight and I couldn’t be more excited.They have had a great year and clinched the #1 seed in the East.As fate would have it, the dreaded Montreal Canadiens (as the #8 seed) stand in their way of advancing to the next round.Forget the Yankees, the Canadiens are the original Evil Empire.They stand for all that is wrong with North America and pretty much the world in general.
Let’s face it:Unless if you are between the ages of 18-20 or completely love strip clubs, Montreal totally sucks.Mr. Baseball and I went for a weekend last year and we left completely underwhelmed.Save for the Notre Dame Cathedral, a Lebanese restaurant named Boustan and a smoke show bartender at the London Pub named Lindsay, every single thing in Montreal failed to lived up to the hype.Add in that French-esque attitude, and if I never go back to Montreal it will be too soon.
Montreal holds a whopping 24-7 playoff series edge over the Bruins, including wins in the last three series.In 2002, the Bruins were favored and Montreal won in six games.In 2004, the Bruins were the top seed (like this year) and were upset in seven games by the 8th seeded Canadiens.Last year, in a very exciting series the #8 seed Bruins took the top-seeded Canadiens to seven games.It also is worth mentioning that the Bruins have only won one out of their last ten playoff series.
The Bruins’ terrible playoff history against a city with such a history of suck is really tough for this Bostonian to take.To combat this, I am doing something about it.I am throwing some of my highly-effective playoff attendance karma the Bruins way.I’ll be in the Garden tonight cheering the B’s on and this year, the outcome will be different.
Move over, Montreal.It is our time.It’s called Bruins and they want it more than you.
Thoughts while still shaking my head at Randy Moss and Matt Cassel’s performances yesterday…
Back in the day, I was an avid Bruins fan. In high school, we skipped school one day to go down to the old Boston Garden to buy playoff tickets. It was just after a big playoff win against the Pittsburgh Penguins and I can still remember the excitement we felt. In the 70’s, the Bruins were as popular as the Red Sox are now. The hockey team owned this town. Somewhere along the line, my interest for the Bruins fell off.
The youtube above was a commercial run on NESN last spring. Admittedly, I jumped back on the Bruins bandwagon during their hard-fought, seven game series against Montreal. I stayed with the Celtics during some lean years but it was very tough to sick with the Bruins as well. When the B’s made the playoffs last year, I was really happy for the folks that stuck with them. I felt like an outsider rooting for them.
In my defense, it was hard to stay on the B’s bandwagon. During the past seven years, the Pats have won three Super Bowls, the Sox have won two World Series and the Celtics won an NBA Championship. As much as I try to do otherwise, you can only devote so much time to sports. For me (and probably many other Boston fans), the Bruins suffered as a result of the other Boston teams’ successes. When I started writing this blog, a month had passed since they were eliminated. I’ve never written about the B’s.
Until now.
The B’s have forced themselves back onto the Boston sports scene. They are 12-1-1 in their last 14 games and are one of the best teams in the NHL. I now find myself checking their schedule to see when they are on. Friday night, I watched the Bruins more than the Celtics for the first time in as long as I can remember. The Bruins are back and if they will have me, so am I.
The Bruins are really fun to watch. They have a young, high-powered offense and a goaltender (Tim Thomas) that is playing out of this world right now. This youth movement has been lead by Milan Lucic who wears #17 (fitting for the Garden, if I do say so myself). Lucic has drawn (albeit probably pre-mature) comparisons to a young Cam Neely. I’ll be going to my first Bruins game in years next month and I couldn’t be happier about it. Boston is such a great place to be when our sports teams are doing well.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Is it too early to call 2009 the worst year ever? Check back tomorrow and I’ll explain. 
The crowd was great.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Happy Birthday, Euell!
The Bruins are really fun to watch. They have a young, high-powered offense and a goaltender (Tim Thomas) that is playing out of this world right now. This youth movement has been lead by Milan Lucic who wears #17 (fitting for the Garden, if I do say so myself). Lucic has drawn (albeit probably pre-mature) comparisons to a young Cam Neely. I’ll be going to my first Bruins game in years next month and I couldn’t be happier about it. Boston is such a great place to be when our sports teams are doing well.