Quickie Independence Day Weekend Sports Chowdah Update: Wake-Up Call Decides Rubber Game vs Toronto; July 6, 2011

And I thought my 4th of July was pretty awesome!



RED SOX- Awesome 4th of July Fenway pregame ceremonies notwithstanding, it goes without saying that the last couple of days have been pretty unkind to the Olde Towne team. Although they were able to take two out of three from the Blue Jays, there were concerns as far as injuries and performance of some of the starters went.

The series opener on the 4th of July featured a surprise on-field reunion between US Navy petty officer Bridget Lydon and her family from Quincy, MA before the game got underway with visitors from up north rather rudely roughing up starter John Lackey.

Lackey gave up 7 runs on nine hits and a walk before getting the hook and replaced with Dan Wheeler with one away in the 3rd. Although Boston would come right back and make a game of it, their late rally went by the wayside in the bottom of the 9th and the Jays went on to win by a 9-7 final.

Tuesday's game was a slightly different story with nowhere near the offensive output. Jon Lester was dealing, allowing no hits in four innings of work, but he left the game in the 4th inning with back problems.

Nonetheless, the Sox bullpen kept it a 3-0 game until the bottom of the 9th when Jays slugger Jose Bautista belted a 2-run homer off a struggling Papelbon to make it a 1-run game. The game ended when Jays DH Edwin Encarnacion was thrown out at home by Sox LF Darnell McDonald on a disputed call.


Thursday's rubber game would feature Tim Wakefield starting out in search of career win #198. Although the Jays would get out to the early lead, Boston would break the game open against Ricky Romero in the bottom of the 4th with RBI doubles from PawSox call-up Yamaico Navarro and Jacoby Ellsbury as well as an RBI single from Darnell McDonald to make it a 6-3 Boston lead.

Papelbon would scuffle some in the top of the 9th, but he was eventually able to get the 3rd out and preserve the Red Sox win by a final of 6-4 to win the rubber game in the 3-game series against Toronto.

The win comes without the bat or glove of 1B Adrian Gonzalez, who Francona decided to give the day off.

The homestand continues with the Baltimore Orioles coming to town to kick off a 4-game series. Jake Arrieta (9-5; 4.74 ERA) gets the start for the O's while Andy Miller (2-0; 3.06 ERA) takes to the mound for the Sox. Game gets underway at 7:10 ET.

OTHER SOX NEWS: The Red Sox have sent OF Mike Cameron to the Florida Marlins for cash and a player to be named later on Monday. The 38 year old outfielder had 3 home runs, 9 RBI's and a .149 batting average with Boston this year.

POLL RESULTS: A few weeks ago, I put up a poll wondering who's behavior you thought was more self-destructive, Former Congressman Anthy Weiner's or the rioting Vancouver Canucks fans. Much to my surprise, the near unanimous verdict was that the married congressman tweeting pictures of his junk was more self-destructive than extensively looting and setting fires in the downtown area of a major metropolitan area.

Stanley Cup of Sports Chowdah- THE WAIT IS OVAH, LORD STANLEY'S CUP HEADS BACK TO THE HUB!! Beckett's 1-Hit Wonder; LeBron LeGone in 6 Game NBA Final

	The Standells - Dirty Water .mp3
	Found at bee mp3 search engine

STANLEY CUP FINAL- GAME 7: The best kind of game there is! Although with Vancouver being undefeated at home in the Stanley Cup finals, many prognosticators had already given the cup to the Canucks. I was confident about the Bruins chances on Wednesday night thanks to a very unconventional indicator that worked out pretty well in Boston's favor when a certain Boston team was playing a clinching game.

After Boston tied the series and forced a decisive Game 7 with a 5-2 win at Boston's TD Banknorth Garden on Monday night, the Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks would go at it one more time on Wednesday night to see who would bring home the Stanley Cup.

The Bruins got out to the early lead late in the first with a goal from center Patrice Bergeron, and never looked back from there. Brad Marchand would get an even strength goal at just over 12 minutes into the second period before Bergeron tallied a shorthanded goal to make it a 3-0 Boston lead.

Marchand finished off the scoring with an empty-netter late in the 3rd after Vancouver pulled goaltender Roberto Luongo for an extra attacker with just under 3 minutes to go in regulation to put the game away by a 4-0 final.

Bruins goalie and former Vermont Catamount Tim Thomas turned away all 37 shots faced in Game 7, while Vanucks netminder Roberto Luongo gave up 3 goals in his evening's work. The shuout comes despite the Canucks outshooting the Bruins by a 37-20 margin.

Thomas, who started his NHL career with the now-defunct Quebec Nordiques, was awarded the Conn Smythe trophy as MVP of the Stanley Cup finals and is considered a favorite for the Vezina Trophy (the NHL's best goaltender) for the 2010-2011 season. The Game 7 win was his 4th-ever career playoff shutout.



43 year old winger Mark Recchi also took the occasion of hoisting the Stanley Cup to announce his retirement after Game 7. Recchi had earlier indicated that he would like to go out on top as a finale to his 22 year NHL career. Recchi was acquired by the Bruins in a March 2009 trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning and re-joined the club by agreeing to a series of 1-year contracts. Recchi had 3 goals and 4 assists in the Stanley Cup Finals this year.

While Nathan Horton wasn't cleared to play, he travelled with the team to Vancouver and was in uniform for the presentation of the Stanley Cup by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.

Sgt. D A Dorken of Canadian Forces Afghanistan showing his love for the Bruins circa 2007

[On a personal note, I cannot tell you how happy I am for the Bruins players, head coach Claude Julien, President Cam Neely and Bruins fans and alumni on both sides of the border who have been waiting nearly 40 years for this. Do any of you remember Ray Bourque being traded to Colorado for one last crack at a championship? It was absolutely the right call, but a damn shame he had to leave Boston to go out a winner. How about the Joe Thornton trade? Or the epic collapse against Philly last year? Fuhgeddaboutit- that shit is old news now!- NANESB!]

The win itself and the ceremonies afterward were a thing of beauty, but what happened outside wasn't.

Vancouver Sun- Photos

Unfortunately, almost as soon as the game was decided, Vancouver fans decided to express their displeasure with the outcome of Game 7 by torching cars, smashing shop windows, looting and clashing with police.

Riot police fired rubber bullets and flash bombs in downtown Vancouver Wednesday night to try to disperse angry rioters who set cars on fire and taunted police officers after the Canucks' 4-0 Stanley Cup final loss to the Boston Bruins.

Police declared the downtown fan zone area near the CBC building and the central post office a riot zone. Anyone not leaving the West Georgia Street area immediately could be arrested, they warned.

Police were using batons and also turned police dogs on the rioters, slowly pushing the crowd back along Georgia Street from Hamilton Street to Cambie Street.

Officers in riot gear were also trying to disperse a smaller crowd on Granville Street, about six blocks from the original riot scene.

Two police cars were set on fire in a parking lot on Cambie Street near one of the areas where police were being confronted by a few dozen people among the hundreds present who were throwing debris at officers.

There was a riot in the city of Vancouver during June 1994 under similar circumstances when the Canucks lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final to the New York Rangers.



RED SOX- While all eyes were seemingly on Vancouver tonight, Red Sox Bruins nation missed Josh Beckett throwing one hell of a gem down in Tampa tonight.

Josh Beckett threw a complete game one-hit shutout against Tampa Bay at Tropicana field on Wednesday night, allowing only a hit to Rays SS Reid Brignac. Run support came late for Beckett in the form of a Kevin Youkilis 3-run bomb that plated Dustin Pedroia and Adrian Gonzalez. Beckett was pretty efficient on the night, throwing all of 97 pitches in his 9 innings of work, striking out 6 and walking none.

On Tuesday night, Rays starter James Shields went the distance in a complete game of his own, shutting out the Sox by a 4-0 margin, interrupting Boston's 9-game win streak. Thursday's rubber game will have Clay Buchholz [5-3; 3.59 ERA] up against David Price [7-5; 3.51 ERA]. First pitch is at 7:10 ET and the game will be televised on both NESN and the MLB network.



NBA: I'm a few days behind on this, but congratulations to the NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks, who stunned the Miami Heat with their win Sunday by a 105-95 margin to win the NBA Finals by a 4-2 margin. Dallas stunned the basketball world by sweeping the LA Lakers early in the playoffs and then dispatching the Oklahoma City Thunder in fairly short order.

Although he got off to a slow first half in Game 6, Mavs Forward Dirk Nowitzki would go on to be named NBA Finals MVP.

Woe Canada Sports Chowdah Update- Do or Die in Beantown- Too Much Pressure in Luongo's Tires? TO Too Bad- Sox Sweep Jays North of the Border

Getty Images

STANLEY CUP FINALS: After Friday night's 1-0 loss in Vancouver, the Stanley Cup finals moved back to Boston for a do-or-die Game 6 on Monday night. The Stanley Cup was inside the Garden- if the Canucks won, it was theirs for the taking.

But the Bruins had other ideas, and unlike Friday night they got on the board and got on the board early. Brad Marchand opened up the scoring with an even strength tally at the five and a half minute mark in the 1st period. Barely 30 seconds later, the Bruins doubled their lead when Milan Lucic beat Luongo at the 6:06 mark to make it 2-0.



With the lead, the Bruins would uncharacteristically cash in on the man advantage after Alex Edler went to the sin bin for a boarding minor. Andre Ference would chase Luongo for the night just under a minute into the Bruins man advantage. Cory Schnieder went in between the pipes after Vigneault pulled Luongo. Although Schneider stopped all 9 shots faced against the Bruins late in Game 4, he allowed Andrew Ference to tip one in just a minute and 10 seconds after coming in in relief of Luongo to make it a 4-0 game. The four goals in 4 minutes and 14 seconds by one team were a record for the Stanley Cup championship game.


Just when it looked like the Bruins had the game put away, the Canucks would get on the board with Henrki Sedin's first goal of the Stanley Cup finals on a power play to open up the 3rd period. Despite the 3 goal lead, Vancouver threatened to steal away the momentum when shortly after Sedin's goal, a shot that rang off the goalpost was ruled a no-goal after a video review.

However, Boston got the momentum back when they had a 5 on 3 man advantage and for the 2nd time in the evening managed to get one past Cory Schneider 7 minutes into the 3rd period to make it a 5-1 game. The Canucks would get one more with about two and a half minutes left in regulation, but would ultimately fall by a 5-2 final.

Tim Thomas faced 38 shots on the night, turning aside 36 while Roberto Luongo faced only 8 shots, stopping five. Cory Schneider faced 32, turning aside 30.

The win tonight forces a Game 7 in Vancouver on Wednesday night at 5 PM Pacific, 8 PM Eastern. The game will be televised on NBC in the USA and the CBC in Canada. While Boston has outscored Vancouver by a composite 17-3 in the Graden during the final, it had lost the three previous games played in Vancouver by exactly 1 goal.

OTHER NOTES FROM TONIGHT: Canucks Forward Mason Raymond was sent to the hospital with an undisclosed injury after a collision with Johnny Boychuck against the boards in the first period.

Nathan Horton made an appearance at the Garden in Game 6, getting a standing ovation from the crowd.

RED SOX: After a lengthy rain delay on Thursday night in the Bronx, the Yankees got off to an early 2-0 lead against Josh Beckett before the wheels started to come off for CC Sabathia in the top of the 7th, when the Red Sox would score 7 runs and chase Sabathia from the mound.

So completing a come-from behind win and vaulting into first place with a 3 game sweep of the Yankees, the Red Sox headed north of the border into Toronto for a weekend series against the Blue Jays.

Clay Buchholz was on the bump Friday night for the Red Sox 5-1 win against Toronto- and that was actually the closest game of the weekend series. Saturday afternoon's game was a brutal 16-4 beating that saw Jays 2B Mike McCoy come in and pitch some relief (and actually get a 1-2-3 inning for his efforts on the mound). On Sunday afternoon, the Jays managed to hold the Sox offense to a mere 14 runs in their 14-1 loss. Lackey got the win on Sunday while Jon Lester got the win on Sunday.

The Red Sox will next travel to Tampa to take on the Rays. Tampa Bay is coming off a 2-1 loss at Detroit's Comerica Park thanks to a controversial call that cost them a run in the 7th inning on Monday night. The game was a makeup of a May 25th rainout in Detroit. Tim Wakefield (3-1; 4.84 ERA) is expected to get the start against James Shields (5-4; 2.85 ERA). First pitch is at 7:10 and the game will be broadcast on NESN.

ELSEWHERE IN MLB: Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky's 18 year old son Trevor Gretzky was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 2011 MLB Draft. The younger Gretzky had previously committed to the San Diego State Aztecs, and he would play under Baseball hall of famer Tony Gwynn is he and the Cubs cannot reach an agreement on their contract.

NCAA FOOTBALL: The BCS has stripped the University of Southern California Trojans of their 2004 title. The decision was made official after the NCAA rejected USC's appeal of sanctions resulting from RB Reggie Bush and his family accepting improper benefits while playing for the Trojans.

Other NCAA sanctions against the school include a two year suspension from postseason play and the revocation of at least 30 scholarships over three seasons.

Quickie Sports Chowdah Update- B's Upend Canucks, Finals Tied at 2-2; Yankees Knuckle Under

STANLEY CUP FINAL: While Monday's game was a hard act to follow, the Bruins continued to assert themselves against the Canucks at home.





Wednesday night's affair wasn't as high-scoring as Game 3, but the Bruins got on the board in the 1st thanks to a Rich Peverly goal at about the 12 minute mark.

Boston would then get some insurance in the 2nd with goals from Michael Ryder and Brad Marchand (Marchand's coming on a 4 on 4) less than two and a half minutes apart to make it a 3-0 game.

Rich Peverly would then put the game away late in the 3rd with his second goal of the night, making it a 4-0 game and chasing Roberto Luongo out of the net at the 3 and a half minute mark in the 3rd. Marblehead, MA native Cory Schneider would spell Luongo for the remainder of the game (aside from the final minute of regulation) and would turn aside all 9 shots he faced.

Getty Images/Boston Globe

Not surprisingly, the last couple of minutes for regulation were pretty physical including Tim Thomas giving Alex Burrows a 'love tap' in front of the Boston net.

The Bruins go on to win Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals by a final of 4-0, which evens up the series at 2 games each and essentialy making the Stanley Cup final a best of three series now.

While Tim Thomas managed to to turn aside all 38 shots faced in his shutout of the Canucks, Luongo allowed 4 goals on the 20 shots he faced, prompting rumblings of a goaltender controversy in Vancouver.

Luongo has allowed 12 goals in the last two games while the Canucks offense was only able to generate one goal throughout Games 3 and 4. While some might think that Vancouver will go with Schneider, early indications are that they'll be sticking with Luongo for Game 5 which gets under way on Friday night in Vancouver at 5PM Pacific, 8 Eastern. The game will be broadcast on NBC in the USA and CBC in Canada.


MLB: The venerable knuckleballer Tim Wakefield gave Boston five and a third innings on Wednesday night, allowing five runs on five hits while allowing three walks and striking out three batters on Wednesday night, which turned out to be good enough for the win thanks to copious run support from Sox batters.

Boston got off to the early 3-0 lead with a Big Papi 2-run homer in the top of the 1st followed up by a J.D. Drew sac-fly in the 2nd and a 3-run 4th inning before the Yankees started to rally and eat into the Red Sox lead with 3 runs in the bottom of the 5th.

Alfredo Aceves went the rest of the way for Boston, going 3 and 2/3rds innings while allowing 4 hits, an earned run, a walk and striking out four. However, Boston would get some insurance in the top of the 9th on homers by Carl Crawford and JD Drew to put the game away by a 11-6 final for Boston.

Game 3 of the series is set to take place Thursday night (weather permitting) with Josh Beckett [4-2; 2.01 ERA] going up against CC Sabathia [7-3; 2.80 ERA] at 7:05 ET with the game being televised on NESN and MLB network.

OTHER SOX NEWS: 2B Dustin Pedroia will return to Bostn on Thursday to have doctors examine his right knee. The second baseman said it had been bothering him for at least a month. Meanwhile, an MRI on SS Jed Lowrie showed no structural damage to his left shoulder, which Lowrie said had been sore since a May 29 collision with outfielder Carl Crawford.

Catcher Jarrod Salatlamacchia had been sent to the doctor's on Thursday night with flu-like symptoms, but was healthy enough to have returned to the stadium before the game was even over. Tests for appendicitis came back negative as well.

Big Ol' Bite of Sports Chowdah- Bruins Bite Back in Game 3; Sox-Yanks Resume in Bronx

STANLEY CUP FINAL- Wow- I'm pretty sure what happened on Monday night was what most people would call a 'statement game'.

Things got pretty quiet not too far into the first Stanley Cup final game to take place in Boston in 21 years after a late, open-ice hit by Vancouver's Aaron Rome on Nathan Horton. With his neck in a brace, the winger was wheeled out on a stretcher and Vancouver was shorthanded for 5 minutes, a penalty on which the Bruins weren't able to capitalize.

As it turns out, it was one of the few power plays on the night that the B's didn't score, including a couple of Canucks power plays.

Andrew Ference would break the scoreless deadlock just 11 seconds into the 2nd period. This would be followed by Mark Recchi's power play goal 4 minutes and 22 seconds in to make it 2-0.

Now- as glad as most Boston fans were that the Bruins got out the the early lead, they were also acutely aware of the Bruins inability to hold onto even bigger leads in significant games, and the last thing they wanted was to fall into an 0-3 series hole at home.

Brad Marchand allayed those fears with a nifty shorthanded goal at the 11:30 mark and just to make things even more interesting, David Krejci tallies and even-strength goal with just over 4 minutes remaining in the second.

And oddly enough- they were just getting started. The onslaught continued into the second half of the 3rd period, with the B's getting on the board thanks to ANOTHER shorthanded goal, this time from Daniel Paille at the 11:38 mark to make it 5-0. The Canucks would get their only goal of the night on a Jannik Hansen tally, but the Bruins would close out the game with three MORE goals (Recchi, Kelly and Ryder) to end Game 3 with an exclamation point and an 8-1 final. Boston takes a bite out of the Canucks series lead and now trails 2 games to 1.

Tim Thomas stopped 40 of 41 shots faced while Roberto Luongo allowed 8 goals on 38 shots on goal- leading some at the sports bar I was nursing a few Sam Adams to wonder if a cardboard cutout of The Most Interesting Man in the World from the Dos Equis advertisements might be able to spell Luongo for a bit.

Although it took a little longer than I had hoped, I'm glad to see such offensive production coming from the Bruins after getting shut out in Game 1 and losing in cringeworthy fashion in Game 2. Hopefully this is something they can sustain and Vancouver will have a difficult time adjusting to.

Alex Burrows seen postgame

OTHER STANLEY CUP BITS: Canucks defenseman Aaron Rome has received a 4-game suspension for his late his on Nathan Horton. Horton is expected to miss the rest of the Stanley Cup finals with a severe concussion.

Canucks winger Alex Burrows had managed to avoid suspension earlier in the series after biting the gloved finger of Patrice Bergeron during an altercation in Game 1.
MLB: The Red Sox trip to Yankee stadium got off to a promising start on Tuesday night when Boston got out to an early 3-0 lead thanks to a solo homer by Jacoby Ellsbury to lead off the game, followed by an Adrian Gonzalez RBI triple that plated Dustin Pedroia and a Kevin Youkilis sac-fly.

The Bronx Bombers were able to get a run back in the bottom of the 1st on a Robinson Cano RBI single, but the Sox managed to chase Yankees starter Freddy Garcia from the mound after a 2-out Dustin Pedroia RBI single made it a 4-1 game.

Luis Ayala came on to replace Garcia for an inning and a third (only giving up a walk) before being spelled by Hector Nosei who went 6 inning, giving up 3 hits- although one of them was a David Ortiz 2-run homer to make it a 6-1 game briefly.

Lester, in turn would give up a 2-RBI double to Nick Swisher in the bottom of the 5th and the Yankees would eat into Boston's lead to make it a 6-3 game. New York would get another run back in the bottom of the 9th with a Jorge Posada 2-out RBI single to plate Brett Gardner, but Papelbon would strike out Alex Rodriguez to end the ballgame. Red Sox hang on to win by a 6-4 final with Lester going six innings, giving up 8 hits, 3 earned runs, striking out five and walking one.

Although it wasn't pretty, Papelbon's save was the 12th of the season and career save #200. Papelbon reached that milestone in his 359th career game, becoming the quickest pitcher to reach that mark in the MLB (previously it was longtime Yankees closer Mariano Rivera who reached in 382 games).

Wednesday's game will be televised on ESPN at 7:05 ET and features Tim Wakefield (2-1; 4.40 ERA) going up against AJ Burnett (6-3; 3.86 ERA).

OTHER SOX/YANKEES NOTES: SS Marco Scutaro returned from the DL and a rehab stint in Pawtucket, where he was hitting .455 in 3 games. Scutaro went on the DL May 16th with a strained oblique and went 1 for 4 in his return to Boston.

-Yankees 1B Mark Teixera was struck by a pitch along the knee in the bottom of the first inning Tuesday night. He was helped off the field and Jorge Posada pinch-ran for him. X-Rays came back negative, although he will be re-evaluated on Wednesday.

- Papelbon faces a three game suspension for his conduct during Saturday's game against Oakland at Fenway Park after the closer rushed towards home plate umpire Tony Randazzo and bumped him while arguing balls and strikes. Papelbon is appealing the suspension and can still play until the appeal is dismissed.

-Sox Relief pitcher Bobby Jenks threw just 4 pitches on Tuesday night's game before leaving with back spasms. The pitcher is scheduled to undergo an MRI on Wednesday.

Sports Chowdah Update- Bruins Find Way Past Luongo, Fall in OT; Sox Complete Home Sweep of A's in Lackey's Return

Harry How- Getty Images

STANLEY CUP FINALS: Game two would turn out to be one of those 'good news/bad news' deals. The good news was that not only were the Bruins able to find their way past Canucks netminder Roberto Luongo, but were able to take a 2-1 lead for awhile on Saturday night.

The not-suspended Alexandre Burrows got the Canucks on the board at the 12:12 mark in the 1st, bur Luongo's 5+ period shutout streak came to an end when E. Vancouver-born Milan Lucic got the game tying goal 9 minutes into the second. The Venerable Mark Recchi would then put the B's on top with a power play goal to make it 2-1 Bruins.

However, Vancouver would get the equalizer in the 3rd from the Daniel half of the Sedin brothers to tie things up and eventually force OT. If you blinked, you probably missed the OT as Burrows was chomping at the opportunity to come up with the game-winning goal and exactly that just 11 seconds into the OT and giving the Canucks a formidable 2-0 series lead.

The series shifts to Boston with Game 3 set to get underway at 8PM ET, 5 Pacific from the TD Banknorth Garden. Game 3 will be broadcast on VS and the CBC.


RED SOX: The first two games of the weekend series against Oakland at Fenway were marked with late rallies and ejections, including Papelbon on Saturday after arguing balls and strikes in the top of th 9th after squandering a 4 run lead in Saturday's game (the Sox would go on to win on a JD Drew RBI single in the bottom of the 14th).

Sunday's finale would see John Lackey on the bump fresh from a rehab start in Pawtucket earlier this week while Boston's two main offseason pickups would provide the bulk of the run support for Lackey on Sunday. Carl Crawford belted a 3-run homer in the bottom of the 2nd inning to make it 3-0 Boston. Then, as the A's closed to within a run, 1B Adrian Gonzalez hit a 2-run homer into the Monster seats to make it a 5-2 game.

Lackey would end up going 5 and ⅔ innings and getting the W on Sunday, and Bard closed out the top of the 9th, completing the sweep of Oakland.

The Red Sox next travel to the Bronx to take on the Yankees on Tuesday night with Jon Lester (7-2; 3.94 ERA) going up against Freddy Garcia (4-4; 3.34 ERA). The game will get underway at 7:05 ET on NESN.

Sports Chowdah Update- Canucks go Luongo Distance; Red Sox on Wrong End of Sox Sweep; Shaq Packs it In

STANLEY CUP FINALS: For those of you who were wondering what it would've been like if the Bruins were on the losing end of that spectacular goalie matchup in Game 7 of the Eastern conference finals, Game 1 offered just a taste. With two Vezina-candidate goalies between the pipes, you had to figure it would be a low-scoring affair.

While they didn't score often (hell, nobody did) the Canucks scored late for the only goal of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals in Vancouver on Wednesday night. Raffi Torres put the Canucks on the board with less than 20 seconds left in regulation, eliminating the need for that pesky overtime.

The Canucks went 0-6 on the power play while the Bruins were 0-7 (including a 3 on 5 in the 2nd period) on the evening. So unlike Game 7 against Tampa Bay, the officials did take the whistle out of the pocket- although there were no penalties against either team in the 3rd.

Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo turned aside all 36 shots faced while Tim Thomas stopped 33 of 34 faced in regulation. Game 2 is set to get underway at Vancouver's Rogers Arena on Saturday night at 8 PM ET, 5 PM Pacific Time and will be broadcast on NBC and CBC.

Granted the stakes are much higher in this one, but it's a little early to freak out and collectively hang heads in despair over the outcome of Game 1. The B's got off to much worse starts in their series against Tampa Bay and Montreal, yet somehow made it to the finals.

OTHER STANLEY CUP FINALS NEWS: The NHL has ruled that Canucks forward Alex Burrows will not be suspended after biting the finger of Patrice Bergeron during an altercation at the end of the 1st period. Both players were given offsetting minor penalties for roughing to start off the 2nd period.

OTHER NHL NEWS: In what's likely the biggest news to hit Winnipeg since.....umm.....hmm.....I guess the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway or Trans-Canada highway [care to help me out on this one, Maintobans? -NANESB!], it was announced this week that the Atlanta Thrashers would be moving to Winnipeg, MB upon completion of the sale of the Thrashers to True North Sports & Entertainment.

Winnipeg was home to the Jets, a World Hockey Association that was absorbed into the NHL in the 1970s, up until 1996 when the team departed for Phoenix, AZ to become the Coyotes. There had been much speculation that the financially struggling Coyotes would in fact be the team that would move back to Manitoba, but the organization was able to reach a long-term deal with the city of Glendale, AZ regarding an arena.

After the Winnipeg Jets left town, the city played host to the Manitoba Moose of the IHL and later AHL.

MLB: After taking 3 out of 4 over the weekend from the Detroit Tigers, the Red Sox travelled back to Fenway to take on the Chicago White Sox with Lester, Acves and Wakefield getting the starts over the last 3 games. Wednesday's game featured the White Sox rallying from a 3-1 hole in the top of the 5th to tie the game and eventually go ahead, winning by a 7-4 final. Wakefield went 6 innings in the loss, allowing 7 hits, 4 runs and getting no decision.

The Red Sox will go up against the Oakland A's at Fenway on Friday night at 7:10PM ET. Clay Buchholz (4-3; 3.41 ERA) will get the start against Josh Outman (1-0; 2.08 ERA).

DOWN IN PAWTUCKET: The Pawtucket Red Sox managed to rally against the Norfolk Tides on Wednesday night despite Kevin Millwood only going 2 and 2/3rds innings and allowing 4 runs. Outfielder Darnell McDonald went 2 for 3 with 3 RBIs in the 8-7 win against the Baltimore Orioles affiliated AAA team, getting five runs in the bottom of the 9th.

On Tuesday night, John Lackey started for Pawtucket and went 5 and 2/3rds innings, allowing 3 hits and one earned run. Hideki Okajima came out of the bullpen and got the win in the 11-inning 5-4 win

OTHER RED SOX NEWS: Daisuke Matsuzaka is expected to undergo Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, a Japanese news agenct reported. Matsuzaka had consulted with his family in Japan and got a 2nd opinion from a Los Angeles based doctor who confirmed the Red Sox diagnosis.

CELTICS: After an injury plagued season with the Boston Celtics, Center Shaquille O'Neal announced his retirement on Wednesday. The 7ft 1 Lousiana State star had a NBA career spanning 19 season with the Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics.

Sports Chowdah W/a Shot of 7 And 7: BRUINS WIN GAME 7, ADVANCE TO STANLEY CUP FINAL FOR FIRST TIME IN 21 YEARS; Oh Yea- The Red Sox Played Today, Too

Prince of Wales Trophy Presentation- Boston Bruins Photo

NHL: WOW! Remember when Game 7s DIDN'T live up to the hype? Didn't seem that long ago, did it?

This was such a hard series to call, with the B's shutting out the Lightning one game and allowing five unanswered goals in the next. As much as I wanted to be an insufferable douchenozzle and boldly predict a Boston win, I was genuinely uncertain about the possible outcome of the series. Both teams had eerily similar circumstances heading into the Eastern conference finals as well; finishing the regular season with 103 points, playing 7 games in the first round and then sweeping their next opponent in 4.

Credit where credit is due, Philly blogger Wyatt Earp totally called it earlier this week in the comments section. I was in denial due to Boston's fairly recent (and painful) history of Game 7 choke-itude that looked set to repeat itself as the Tampa Bay Lightning held off the Bruins to win by a 5-4 final and force a decisive Game 7 at the Garden in Boston on Friday night.

With that said, Game 7 got underway at the Garden on Friday night with the Vancouver Canucks awaiting the winner.

It seemed as though the Bruins had been peppering Lightning netminder Dwayne Roloson with shots on goal almost immediately. In fact, Roloson turned aside all 29 shots he faced in the first two periods while Tim Thomas stopped 17 shots on goal in the same timeframe to make it a scoreless game in the 3rd. After the way the first two periods had gone, it was hard to believe after the Bruins gave away a 3-0 lead in Game 4, but one was left with the feeling that whoever scored first would win Game 7.


Enter Nathan Horton, who tallied the series-winning goal in overtime of Game 7 against the Montreal Canadiens. And thanks to some superb defense and Tim Thomas between the pipes, Horton's tally would be the only goal of the evening. Thomas stopped all 24 shots he faced on Friday night while Roloson very much kept the Lightning in the contest, turning aside 37 of 38 shots faced.

Total penalty minutes in Game 7? Zero.

The shutout is Tim Thomas' second of the series (and third career postseason shutout) while Nathan Horton's game-winner was his 8th goal of the 2011 playoffs.

The Eastern Conference champions will next take on the Vancouver Canucks for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, BC at 8PM ET, 5PM PT on Wednesday, June 1st. The game will be broadcast on NBC.

MLB: After scoring 14 runs in back to back games (a 14-2 win to close out the series in Cleveland and a 14-1 thrashing of the Tigers to start the 4-game series at Detroit's Comerica Park), the Red Sox were held to a mere 6 runs on Friday night, with Boston getting on the board thanks to Jacoby Ellsbury coming home on a wild pitch from Tigers starter Rick Porcello in the 1st. Although Detroit would get out to a 2-1 lead, Boston would take the lead right back thanks to a huge 3rd inning that saw a solo homer from Ellsbury, a Kevin Youkilis 2-RBI double and a 2-run homer from Carl Crawford.

Venerable knuckleballer Tim Wakefield got the start for Boston and went 7 full innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits. Papelbon would give up a leadoff single to Victor Martinez in the bottom of the 9th followed by an RBI double off the bat of Jhonny Peralta, but would get the next 3 outs to close out the 6-3 Boston win.

Clay Buchholz (4-3; 3.30 ERA) will get the start for Saturday night's game while the Tigers have called up pitching prospect Andy Oliver (4-3; 3.31 ERA with the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens this season) after starter Phil Coke went on the DL with an ankle injury earlier this week.

Granted it's not even Memorial Day, but the Red Sox have made their way into first place in the AL East with Friday night's win, one game ahead of the Yankees and a game and a half up on the Rays. Not bad after that horrendous 0-6 start that had Red Sox haters and fans alike getting ready to bury the 2011 Red Sox.

Faustian Cuppa Chowdah, May 24th 2010: Sox Get Some 'Tek Support in Cleveland; Lightning Rod- Thomas Gives Up Early Goal, Shuts Out TB for 58 Min.

NHL: Just when you think you might have things figured out, guess again!

Unable to hold onto a pretty commanding 3-0 lead over the weekend, the Bruins went down 1-0 early against the Lightning on Monday night. Simon Gagne would get one past Tim Thomas just 1 minute and 9 seconds into the first to give Tampa the early lead. But unlike Saturday, that would be it.


Playing to a full house that included the C's Rajon Rondo and Pats head coach Bill Belichick, the Bruins would rally in the second, pulling even on Nathan Horton's even strength goal four and a half minutes into the period and taking the lead on a Brad Marchand tally around the 16 minute mark.

Tampa would furiously try and get one past Thomas in the 3rd to get the equalizer, but Thomas managed to turn aside all of them, even when starter Mike Smith was pulled for the extra attacker late in the 3rd. Rich Peverly would give the B's the breathing room they needed with all of 13 seconds remaining in regulation after scoring an empty-netter.

Dwayne Roloson did not get the start in net Monday- Lighting head coach Guy Boucher went with Mike Smith between the pipes. Over the weekend, Smith did not allow a goal after Roloson had given up three in the 1st period. However, on Monday Smith allowed two goals on 19 shots while Tim Thomas turned aside all but one of the 34 shots he faced.

The Bruins win Monday night by a 3-1 final and lead the series 3 games to 2. The Eastern Conference finals shifts back to Florida for Wednesday night, with a 8PM ET puck drop- the game will be televised on VS and the CBC.

WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: The Bruins or Lightning now know who they'll be going up against once the Eastern Conference finals are wrapped up.

It might've taken double OT on Tuesday night to secure the series win against the San Jose Sharks, but the Vancouver Canucks needed all of five games to advance to the Stanley Cup finals after winning the Western Conference finals 3 games to 1.

Kevin Bieksa scored a wobbly knuckler 10 minutes into the second OT in Vancouver Tuesday night to send the Canucks to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since 1994.

ELSEWHERE IN THE NHL: The Hennepin County Medical examiner's office released a report that NY Rangers enforcer Derek Boogaard died from an accidental mix of alcohol and the painkiller oxycodone. Boogaard was a few months shy of his 29th birthday at the time of his May 13th death and had his season ended b a concussion earlier this year.

MLB: After getting 7 and ⅓ innings from Clay Buccholz Monday night, the Red Sox bullpen could not manage to hold onto a 2-1 lead, giving up 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th. Although JD Drew and Jed Lowrie would get 1-out singles in the top of the 9th, the game ended when OF Carl Crawford grounded into a double-play.

Tuesday night featured a matchup between Josh Beckett and Fausto Carmona that was a little more reminiscent of the 2007 ALCS.

Although the Tribe would get on the board first with an RBI single from OF Ezequiel Carrera in the bottom of the 2nd, the Red Sox would take the lead in the top of the 3rd and then add to it in the top of the 7th after Big Papi led off the inning with a double and Jason Varitek hit a 1-out homer to right field to make it 4-1.

Cleveland would get a run back in the bottom of the 9th thanks to a 1-out Travis Buck solo homer off of Papelbon. 1B Matt LaPorta belted another Papelbon offering pretty deep to left, but that ended up being out #3 and the Red Sox hang on to win by a final of 4-2.

Tomorrow's day game will wrap up the 3-game series before the Sox move on to Detroit. Jon Lester (6-1; 3.68 ERA) will get the start against Mitch Talbot (1-0; 1.46 ERA). The game gets under way from Jacobs Field (I consider 'Progressive' a slur) at 12:05 PM ET.

2nd Helping of West Coast Sports Chowdah: C's Clip LA's Other Team, 'Lucic! I'm Home'- B's Triumph in Vancouver; Hall of Famer Snider Passes Away

NHL- As far as the Bruins are concerned, I'm liking the road trip out west.

The B's came into Vancouver on Saturday night winners of 3 in a row. Of course, two of those wins were tallied against dysfunctional team like the NY Islanders or Ottawa Senators. Calgary was a much better test which they managed to pass, but on Saturday they were up against the league-leading Canucks.

The night before, Vancouver native Milan Lucic was honored by a local junior hockey club. The following night, he ends up scoring the game-winning goal for the B's against the NHL team with the best record.

Vancouver got on the board first with a tally from C Manny Malhotra in the 1st period before Boston would get the equalizer off the stick of Nathan Horton midway through the 2nd.

With dozens of friends and relatives watching in the stands, Lucic scored the go-ahead goal with 4:38 remaining in regulation and with just under two minutes remaining, Patrice Bergeron gave the B's some insurance with an empty netter after the Canucks pulled Roberto Luongo for the extra attacker.

This makes it four wins in a row and the 2nd consecutive game where Boston has won 3-1. Tim Thomas stopped 27 of 28 shots faced while Roberto Luongo faced 24 shots, stopping 22.

The Bruins next game is on Sunday night at Edmonton- puck drops at 5PM Pacific, 8PM Eastern.

NBA- After Thursday's 85-79 loss to a Carmello Anthony-less Denver Nuggets, the western road trip hasn't been as kind to the Celtics as it has the Bruins, but the C's managed to wrap up all of Saturday's NBA action with a win at staples Center against the Clippers.

Kendrick Perkins was sent to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for F Jeff Green and C Nenad Ksrtic and the Clipper's 1st round pick in the 2012 NBA draft. Saturday night would mark the Boston debut of the two new acquisitions. Despite the sluggish and lethargic 1st half where Boston was trailing 47-40, the C's would come right back and make a game of it.

Paul Pierce led the scoring for Boston with 24 points while Ray Allen had 22, Kevin Garnett had 16 and Glen 'Big Baby' Davis came off the bench for 10. Krstic started with 9 points and 6 rebounds while Green came off the bench for 7 points and one rebound in Saturday's 99-92 win over the Clippers- G Randy Foye had a 32-point night in the losing effort for the Clippers.

The C's next game will be on Monday night against the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City at 9PM Eastern- 7PM Mountain time.

MLB: Hall of Fame Brooklyn Dodgers outfielder Duke Snider passed away at a Southern California Convalescent hospital, according to a statement from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, which released a statement on behalf of Snider's family. According to Snider's family, he had been ill for several months and was being cared for at an Escondido, CA convalescent hospital.

Snider batted a career .295 and hit 407 homeruns in a career that started in 1947 with the Brookly Dodgers and saw him win an elusive World Series Title with 'dem bums' and play his home games in Los Angeles when the Dodgers moved across the country. He finished his career in 1964 with the San Francisco Giants.

Snider retired to an avocado farm in Fallbrook, CA after his playing career. In the 1990s, he faced legal troubles because he failed to report revenue from signing autographs, appearances and memorabilia sales to the IRS.

The Dodgers retired Snider's number in 1980, the same year he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

ELSEWHERE: The Red Sox will kick off Spring Training with a 'home and away' series against the Minnesota Twins on Sunday (while, curiously enough, never leaving the city of Ft. Meyers, FL). Opening pitch is 7PM Eastern Time.