Bruins Up 3-1 In Series

The Bruins have won both games 3 and 4 at home in Boston to bring their lead in the series up to 3 games to 1.  

On Monday night, the Bruins defended their home ice in Boston to narrowly defeat the Buffalo Sabres 2-1.  Mike Grier scored first for the Sabres early in the first period, but the lead was soon erased by the Bruins' Dennis Wideman who scored 8 minutes later.  The scoreless second period was nothing but great defense from both sides and the goalies, Rask and Miller.  Then, in the 12th minute of the 3rd period, Patrice Bergeron came through strong and got a goal for Boston.  Here are the highlights for Wideman's and Bergeron's game winning goals:





Tonight the Bruins were victorious once again, defeating the Sabres 3-2 and taking a 3 games to 1 advantage in the series.  This game was so exciting that it could only have happened during playoffs.  The Sabres were up 2-0 by the beginning of the 3rd period thanks to a goal by Kennedy in the first period and a goal by Montador in the second.  However, an exciting rally by the Bruins led to an early goal by David Krejci and another one midway through the third period by Patrice Bergeron to tie the game at 2 a piece and send it into overtime.  Finally, in the second overtime, Miroslav Satan scored the golden goal that won it for Boston and sent the crowd at the Garden into an uproar.  Here is the exciting footage from his winning shot:



Game 5 will be played in Buffalo on Friday night, when the Bruins will hopefully win and take the series.   

Less Than A Good Start For The Sox

The Red Sox have had a rough season so far, and an even rougher past week.  They are now riding a pitiful record of 4 and 9, six of which losses came during the past week.  

In the road series against the Minnesota Twins from Monday to Thursday, Boston managed to pull out one win from the three games.  On Monday they lost 2-5 to Minnesota, with starting pitcher Jon Lester giving up four runs in five innings.  Twins' Joe Mauer had 3 hits and 2 RBI's.  On Wednesday night, with help from Jeremy Hermida's three-run, bases clearing double in the eighth inning, the Red Sox grabbed a 6-3 win over the Twins.  John Lackey pitched for 6 2/3 innings, giving up seven hits and 2 runs.  Thursday nights game was absolutely horrible thanks to the Twins shutting out the Red Sox 8-0.  Not only was Tim Wakefield's performance on the mound less than stellar, the Twin's starting pitcher Fransisco Liriano completely silenced our team's bats.  

Unfortunately the weekend only got worse at Fenway.  The Red Sox were swept in a 4 game weekend series against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.  Friday nights 1-3 loss was delayed and then set in stone when it was completed on Saturday.  Saturday's regularly scheduled game was played out and the Red Sox lost 5-6.  Maybe Sunday and Monday's games will be better.  Not a chance.  The Sox lost to the Devil Rays by 1-7 and 2-8 on Sunday and Monday respectively.  

Yuck. This post was not fun to write.  One problem with having a sports blog is that you are obligated to still report on the games when your team plays horribly and loses.  Of course I would never let these losses sway my loyalty to the Red Sox, but it is a lot nicer and more exciting to write posts when they win.  You have to keep in mind, however, that your readers are expecting updates from your blog so you should provide both the good new and the bad news.  Hopefully from here on out it will be a lot more good news coming from the Red Sox!!     

Game 1 In The Bag: NBA Playoffs

The Celtics journey toward Banner 18 began well last night in the Garden with a 85-76 victory over the Miami Heat in Game 1 of the first round of playoffs.  The name of the game was Tony Allen who created a much needed spark when he replaced Ray Allen in the third quarter.  After the Heat quickly went up by 14 in the second half, Tony Allen came off of the bench to completely shut down Dwyane Wade, along with getting 14 points, 2 blocks, and 3 steals.  His efforts were completely necessary considering the fact that Wade had 26 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists, most of which came before Allen was defending him.  Paul Pierce also played his part on offense by scoring the team high of 16 points, followed by Kevin Garnett with 15 points.  Ray Allen was virtually not in the game last night, but Rajon Rondo took up some slack for him with a double-double 10 points, 7 rebounds, and 10 assists.  Here are the highlights from game 1:   


With only 40 seconds left in the game, KG was given two technicals and ejected from the game for a supposed elbow to Quentin Richardson's face in front of Miami's bench.  He has also been fined $25,000 and suspended from the upcoming game 2 of this series.  Big Baby Davis, Udonis Haslem, and Richardson were all also given technicals for being involved in the altercation.  Game 2 at the Garden will be played on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. on TNT. 

Admittedly a Fair Weather Bruins Fan: NHL Playoffs

By request from one of my readers, I have decided to give a few updates on the Bruins since hockey playoffs started this week.  I am admittedly a fair weather hockey fan for the Boston Bruins, but I assume that some of my other readers would also enjoy hearing more about them.  

The Bruins embarked on their playoff journey on Thursday and had a close 2-1 loss against the Sabres in Buffalo.  The Sabres drew blood first with a goal by Vanek near the end of the first period, and soon after with a goal early in the second period scored by Rivet.  The Bruins fought back and Recchi scored a goal in the second period, but were unable to tie up the game ever.  Here are the highlights from game one.




Then this afternoon the Bruins redeemed themselves with a 5-3 win against the Sabres in Buffalo, to even the series at 1-1.  Again the Sabres came out aggressively with Ellis and Myers both scoring in the first period, and Pominville scoring early in the second period.  Luckily, they would not score again, creating the opportunity for an amazing come back by the Bruins in which they would go on a 5-0 scoring run to win the game.  Chara and Ryder started things off, both scoring in the second period, followed by Recchi early in the third to tie up the game.  Chara and Ryder would both score again later in the third period to seal the victory.  Here are the highlights for game 2.  
  

Game 3 will be played in Boston on Monday night at 7 p.m.

Buck Off

Last night the Celtics defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 105-90 in a game that may have well been a preview for the first round of the playoffs.  It was a close game through out the first three quarters, but the Celtics managed to take it away in the fourth and secure a big win.  This quarter included three straight jumpers made by Pierce, a few flagrant fouls and technicals called, an ejection of the Bucks coach, and 2 clutch free throws by Ray Allen.  Pierce and Allen also led the scoring for the night with 24 and 21 points respectively, followed by Rondo who had 15 points on the game.  Rasheed Wallace and Big Baby Davis had big defensive games with 7 rebounds each, and Rondo had an impressive 10 assists (out of a total of 15 assists for the whole team!).  The Bucks were led by John Salmons who racked up 21 points, and Brandon Jennings who added on 19 points.    

Here are the highlights from last nights game.

The energy and intensity were extremely high in this game, which is something we can hope to see a lot more of come play offs.  Kevin Garnett didn't play this time, but we all know his presence in future games will boost the intensity ten-notch. 

Dark Wizards Magic

On Wednesday night the Celtics got back on their feet with a 115-104 win against the Toronto Raptors.  They had a slow start with just an okay first half, leaving them down 2 points when they headed to the locker room.  Doc Rivers must have had some good pep talk because the Celtics came out much stronger in the 2nd half and made winning look easy.  Little Rajon Rondo never fails to surprise us and was the high scorer with 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists.  He was followed closely behind by Pierce with 20 points, KG with 19 points, and Ray Allen with 18 points.  Michael Finley had an impressive 4th quarter off the bench as he gave Pierce a break and racked up 14 points.  The Raptors offense mainly came from from Sonny Weems who hit 21 points, along with Andrea Bargnani, Antoine Wright, and Jarrett Jack who all scored 17 points.  

 

 Anddd thennn last night the Washington Wizards performed their dark magic and defeated the Celtics 106-96.  As with all of our losses, too little too late: the only quarter in which we outscored them was the 4th, and by that time only 11 points more than them wasn't enough.  It's actually shocking that we only lost by ten points in the end considering we were down 52-31 at the half! Gross.  Rondo was the only one awake and had 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 12 assists, followed by Nate Robinson with 13 points off the bench.  Everyone else...scored 10 points or less. Wow.  Now compare this to the winning Washington Wizards.  Andray Blatche racked up 31 points, followed by Shaun Livingston with 25 points, Nick Young with 19 points, and JaVale McGee with 14 points off the bench.  Notice any difference? 

Third Quarter Malfunctions

It always stings just a little bit more to lose to New York, regardless of the sport.  Last night the Celtics suffered a close 104-101 loss to the New York Knicks.  We were down by only 1 point at the half, but as some more previous games have gone, we ended up being outplayed in the third quarter which clinched the win for the Knicks.  We came back slightly in the fourth, but it was just short of what the Celtics needed to win.  Ray Allen led the team in scoring with 17 points, followed by Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins with 14 each, and Paul Pierce who added his own 13.  Perkins also had a great defensive game with 8 rebounds and 3 assists.  Unfortunately on the other side, Danilo Gallinari dominated for the Knicks with 31 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists.  Earl Barron also played a tough game against us, racking up 17 points along with 18 total rebounds.  It may have also helped slightly if the Celtics didn't turn the ball over 18 times, just a thought.

BEST EASTER EVER!!

First of all, I’m in beautiful and sunny Florida with my family for Easter Sunday.  Second of all, the Celtics had a glorious 117-113 win over Lebron and the Cavaliers this afternoon!!  And third of all, the Red Sox beat the Yankees tonight 9-7 in the 2010 season home opener at Fenway!!!! YES! BEST EASTER EVER!!!

The Celtics had a 22 point lead for most of the game, but all of a sudden in the 4^th quarter Lebron decided to take over and completely erased the difference.  For the last few minutes of the game, the lead continuously switched back and forth between the Celtics and Cavaliers.  The final result, however, was also thanks to Lebron James’ big head.  With 10 seconds left, he had a chance to tie the game and send it into overtime, but instead chose to go for (AND MISS) the 3-pointer win.  After that, KG knocked down two free throws to give the Celtics their Easter win.  The big name of the game, despite what Lebron would like to think, was actually Ray Allen who scored a season high 33 points, including 10 field goals, SIX three pointers, and all of his 7 free throws.  His biggest shot came with 47 seconds left, when he knocked down a three to give Boston a 4 point lead.  

Finally, baseball season is here at last, and there is absolutely no better way to start it off than to beat the Yankees in Fenway Park on Opening Day!!  Down 5-1 in the fifth inning, the Red Sox got right back into the game with 8 runs in the next four innings to come out on top 9-7.  To really make the game a spectacular entrance into the 2010 season, Steven Tyler of Aerosmith sang "God Bless America" during the 7th inning stretch and Neil Diamond sang live his infamous Red Sox anthem "Sweet Caroline."  

Both this game and the Celtics game were a perfect combination to make it an awesome Easter in Boston!!   

Third Loss In A Row

I’m not sure why, but apparently were trying to start a losing streak instead of a winning streak.  Not only was last night’s 119-114 loss against the Houston Rockets our third loss in a row, it was also our second loss by 5 points in a row (woohoo…).  Once again though, at least it was a good show by the Celtics who rallied in the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime.  Pierce and Rondo tried their hardest and racked up 27 and 23 points, trailed surprisingly by Kendrick Perkins with 15 points.  We could have used a little more from Ray Allen this time, who only got 5 points last night.
  

The Rockets’ Aaron Brooks was the high scorer for Houston with 30 points, followed by Luis Scola with 27 and Chase Budinger with 24.  Apparently they aren’t missing big Yao Ming as much as I speculated in an earlier post.  I also think a big part of this loss came from not taking advantage of the 23 turnovers that Houston had.  We can make them turn over the ball as much as we want, but if we don’t score off of those then they are useless.  I am sick of this losing streak!!!

Doomed By Durant

Kevin Durant is a beast.  This Thunder player was the sole reason for the Celtic’s nail biting 109-104 loss to Oklahoma City last night.  We were winning by 4 at the half, but Durant’s unbelievable 37 points was Lebron-esque and too much for the Celtics to handle.  The Thunder’s Russell Westbrook and Jeff Green backed Durant up with 21 and 17 points each.  It’s a shame that the Celtics lost because the scoring on our side was as unbelievably well-rounded as Durant was during this game.  Kevin Garnett and Rasheed Wallace led the team with 18 points each, followed by Rondo with 16 points and Pierce with 15 points.  Ray Allen also knocked down 13 and Big Baby Davis hit 10 points.  Every single starter and player off the bench scored points to try to help the Celtics stay in this game.  It was a tough loss, but at least the boys still put on a good show.