Saturday Roundup

I am toying with an idea of doing a roundup on either Saturday or Sunday of the main sports stories.  Let's see what develops.

1)  Robert Griffith III won the Heisman Trophy.  The Baylor QB won 5 of the 6 regions of the country.  The Far West went for runner-up Andrew Luck of Stanford.  For me, he wasn't the best QB in the country.

2)  The Chris Paul trade has been killed for a 2nd time.  This time it wasn't the NBA office that killed it, but the Lakers.  In other news, rumors have the Lakers trading Lamar Odom to the Mavericks for a trade exemption and it looks like the rumored Dwight Howard to the Lakers deal is moving forward.  The Lakers have two years before the clamping down of salaries comes into play, it looks like they are trying to make the most of it.

3)  Ryan Braun tested positive for PEDs during the post-season and the second test came up negative a few weeks later.  So which is it, he cheated the test on the second one, or was it a false positive on the first one?  And does this make baseball's drug testing look like a joke?

4)  The Xavier-Cincinnati basketball game broke out into a fight with less than 10 seconds left.  The Cincinnati coach took his players jerseys away and asked them if they wanted to be on the team, while the Xavier kids called themselves gangstas, said that they were disrespected, and acted like goons.  The best line is from the Cincinnati Coach:  “Toughness is doing the right thing. True toughness, you walk away from it. You take your ass-whipping and go home.”  And that is his own team that he is talking about there. 

5)  Navy took their winning streak to a decade over Army.  I would like nothing better than a victory for the Golden Knights sometime within the next decade.

And a bonus story:  Two elementary school teachers from the same district in New York were arrested for going at it like rabbits at the Bills-Titans game last weekend in the men's bathroom.  The funny thing about this is that the man's wife confirmed that her husband was arrested coming out of the bathroom and that she wasn't the lady that was arrested with him.

The Heisman Trophy Ballot Of Mine

The Heisman Trophy Finalists:

1)  Montee Ball, RB, Wisconsin - 1759 Yards, Led Nation in Touchdowns, 32 Rushing Touchdowns, 6.4 Yards Per Carry, 38 Total TDs, 1 Passing TD.

2)  Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor - Led Nation In Passer Rating (192.3), 3,998 Passing Yards, 36 TDs.  72.4% Completion %,

3)  Andrew Luck , QB, Stanford - 3,170 Yards, 35 Touchdowns, 70% Completion %, 167.5 Passer Rating (5th In Nation)

4) Tyrann Mathieu , DB, LSU, - 71 Tackles, 5 forced fumbles, 2 interceptions, 420 yards and 2 TDs on punt returns.

5)  Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama - 1583 yards, 20 Touchdowns 6.0 Yards Per Carry.

If I had a vote, this is the way that my Heisman ballot would look:

1)  Montee Ball, Wisconsin

2)  Kellen Moore, QB, Boise State  73.9 Completion %, 3507 Yards Passing, 41 TDs, Passer Rating 176.3, 4th In Nation.

3)  Robert Griffin III, Baylor.

4)  Case Keenum, Houston  71.7 Completion %, 5099 Yards Passing, 45 TDs, Passer Rating 177.9, 3rd In Nation.

5)  Tyrann Mathieu, LSU.

My Thoughts:

Montee Ball has had the best year of any football player in college football.  Period.  That is the way I look at the Heisman.  He will pass Barry Sanders record of 40 TDs in a season if he scores 3 in the Bowl game.  No one is even close.  He won't win it in real life, but he deserves it.

Kellen Moore would be my pick if Ball hadn't have had a big end of the Big 10 season, especially against the Michigan State Spartans.  This is a player that commanded the Broncos offense to rolling the scoreboards mightily during the first halves.  There were some second halves that he would sit for most of it because the Broncos were so far ahead. 

RG III, was the most electrifying player this year.  However, if being the Heisman trophy winner is coming up big in the biggest of games, which people are knocking Andrew Luck for, RG III doesn't fit the bill. 

Case Keenum went nuts in the Houston offensive system.  One yard shy of 5,100 yards says that he can throw the ball.  The completeion percentage is lower than I would like, and he was in many games where the blowout was complete and the team was trying to pad his stats for the Heisman. 

Tyrann Mathieu is a sure fire pro when he decides to turn pro.  He is the leader of the best defense in the nation.  However, the SEC argument about being the best conference in the land hurts his candidacy in my eyes.  If the SEC is such a great conference, then his stats aren't as great as they should be. 

As for Luck and Richardson, they have far too much hype for the Heisman compared to the stats and results for their respective seasons.  Luck's stats weren't as dominant as people thought coming into the season and while he played solid in the big games, there wasn't that one performance that he shined and brought the Cardinal to victory while the team was obviously outplayed.  Richardson plays for Alabama where the defense won more games than the offense.  Monte Ball has better stats and has been more of a catalyst for the offense in Wisconsin than Richardson has been for 'Bama.

Answer Me This

Did the NBA make a mistake in putting the kibosh on the Chris Paul trade to the Lakers?  There are many facets to this when trying to decide whether it's a mistake -- legality, fairness, practicality and so on.  As an aside, I find it ironic that part of the argument leading up to the new CBA was the league/owners wanting to keep the league from becoming a few top teams and the rest being farm clubs to those top teams.  So I can understand not wanting to let this happen from that standpoint.  I have a problem with the timing, since the players involved knew they were traded.  (It's not a big deal but it's still there.  It's a business and these are big boys.)  I wonder if the league has now made it impossible for the Hornets to either trade Paul at all, thus losing him in free agency and getting zip in return, or receiving anything close in return to what this deal gave them.  Stay tuned!

How do you feel about this new trend in the NBA where it seems like the players are in charge of where they end up playing?  Fair is fair, I guess.  We would all feel as though we deserve to work where we want if we're qualified and have offers.  The problem to me is that this exacerbates the haves and have-nots issue.  The players, especially NBA players, all want to play in LA, NY or South Beach.  It's interesting as a Boston fan to feel second class.  I know..."tough, how does that feel?"  I get it but it is strange.  They all can't play there, of course, but it does give the Lakers in particular first pick of the litter and more than half the league no pick of the litter (the litter being the best players in the league).
The "league" owns the Hornets.  So how did the league agree to this deal and then the league step in and put the kibosh on it?

Does the NBA have a right, is it fair, to put the kibosh on a trade like this?  Is your answer to this question affected by the fact that the league owns and manages the Hornets?

How do you feel about leagues stepping in and deciding whether trades are right or wrong, fair or unfair?  There's not a lot of history for this.  There is the famous case in baseball where the Commissioner refused to allow the Oakland A's to dump three stars to the Red Sox in the early '70s.  I remember being pretty upset about that.  It would've given the Sox a team that likely would have won a couple of World Series; but looking back on it now, that was a salary dump trade where the A's got nowhere near back what they would've given.  I think leagues should look out for the league as a whole, even if doing something like this opens them up to criticism and we're likely going to think it was unnecessary and unfair in some instances.  I do think they have the right.  Whether it's wise in each instance is certainly another question.

Do you see this trade as being lopsided in favor of anyone?  It's a three-way deal, so that makes it harder to look at in that vein.  It looks to me like the Hornets received pretty good value out of this trade but it has the appearance of the Lakers receiving Chris Paul for Pau Gasol and Mr. Kardashian.  So to me the team that's the "culprit" here is Houston, who in essence gave the Hornets the value they wanted in return for Paul, enabling the Lakers to not have to give equal to what they got.  That's the part that bothers me.

Is this deal going to end up happening anyway? 


Would losing Odom and Gasol but gaining Paul make the Lakers the prohibitive favorite this year?  I'm not sure about prohibitive but they're certainly in the top 2 or 3.  The question would be whether one ball is enough for Kobe and Paul; and with Bynum's injury tendency, it would leave the Lakers weak up front.

Would your opinions about this deal change if the Lakers then went out and traded for Dwight Howard?  My opinions wouldn't change.  I'd just be more upset and would feel it proves the point that the Lakers have an unfair advantage in making trades and proves the point that they gave up too little to get Paul if they still have enough ammunition to then trade for Howard.  How can one team have enough to trade for the #1 big man in the league and arguably the #1 point guard in the league and still retain the #1 player in the league?  The answer is that they have other teams over a barrel and can force a situation where a team has to take what they offer or else.

So while something may be fair to the one or the few doesn't mean it's fair to the group as a whole or to other single entities.  Rumors have it that Howard wants to go to Brooklyn, so this may be moot.  But I can tell you I won't be watching any NBA this season if the Lakers end up with both Paul and Howard.

Answer Me This

Below are some questions that occur to me as a result of Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson signing with the Angels today.  I have put my thoughts down but I'm much more interested in what other people think about these and other baseball Winter Meeting issues.


You didn't see the Angels opening up their pocketbooks, did you, or at least to this degree?  I obviously did not.
How big of an impact does Albert Pujols signing with the Angels have on their chances of winning their division? I think the Rangers are still the favorites but C.J. Wilson is no longer with the Rangers but is now with the Angels. The Angels have the #s 3, 4 & 5 wins above replacement pitchers from last year.  Both of these teams have new TV deals and have money to spend.  I think it's good for baseball overall.
One so-called expert said he feels that now the AL West is stronger than the AL East.  Do you agree with that?  In a word, no.  The Rangers, though in a close battle, without CJ Wilson are arguably the 4th best team behind the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays.  The Angels, though much improved now, are not as good as those four teams.
Does Artie Moreno deciding to spend all this money have anything to do with the fact that the Dodgers will soon have new ownership and be stable again?  It's hard to believe it doesn't have something to do with it.  I get the feeling that he's used to winning at everything and is tired of the Angels finishes since he bought the team.
How do you feel about Pujols' decision seemingly being based entirely on money?  It seems that's the case, since he's leaving the defending champs and it could be argued even after this deal the Cardinals are better than the Angels.
What does this mean for the Cardinals next season?  If they don't go after Prince Fielder and if Prince signs outside the division, that becomes one of the weakest divisions in baseball, though I suppose that means it's still winnable by the Cardinals.
Did the Cardinals do enough to be blameless in losing Pujols?
The Miami Marlins have a new stadium and money to spend, and went out and got Jose Reyes, Heath Bell and Mark Buehrle.  What do you think about their chances in the NL East next year and whether anyone in South Beach will give a damn?  Apparently Hanley Ramirez wants nothing to do with playing 3rd.  So that's a big thing that's up in the air with that team.  They have a lot of good young players and were competitive last year but they're in the same division with the Phillies and the Braves.  I don't see this being a baseball market ever, new stadium or not.  The fans didn't come out when they were winning and the stadium wasn't a good enough excuse for me.
It does seem odd having all this money flying around and the Yanks and Sox not involved, huh?  It's not a free agent market full of big names but what else do you see happening during this off season.  Prince Fielder is still out there.

Sports, eh

If you are new to our blog and want to know what we're about, then watch these short educational videos and you'll no longer wonder.


Bob and Doug are correct, more hockey, less football. Did you know the Bruins/Penguins game outdrew Monday Night Football in the Boston market?


So it's important to remember while visiting BoSox Tavern and having a few Tuborgs and some back bacon while watching hockey that you should still exercise to keep your body healthy.

Unfortunately, the next couple of educational videos are unavailable in embed form. So please follow this link to Strange Brew Hockey, remembering to protect your left nut as well as your right, and last beer to learn what not to do with the last beer.

So in summary, we're about sports, eh, first and foremost, then food and alcohol as well. Don't forget your toque, it's getting cold out.



Thanks Bob and Doug.  I put this together while drinking a Canada Dry.

Johnny Walker Green Label

The word "blended" to the ears of scotch snobs usually elicits a negative reaction.  Now I'm new to the world of scotch and admittedly do not have the most discerning palate but what I have discovered is that I much prefer single malts, which means single vat and not a blend.  I currently own two bottles of fine 12-year-old single-malts, a Glenfiddich and a Glenlivet, both of which are lovely (the English in me coming out).  Both of these come from the same region but have very different and distinctive tastes.  So in my quest to see what else was out there and possibly go up a step in quality, I did some research reading scotch reviews on blogs and narrowed it down to two choices, the 15-year-old Glenfiddich Solara and the 15-year-old Johnny Walker Green Label.  But when I discovered that the Johnny Walker was a blend, I had decided to go with the Glenfiddich.
While I was waiting for last weekend to get here and visit the New Hampshire State Liquor Store where booze is cheaper, I received a reply to an email I had sent to the blog writer I liked the most.  I had mentioned what I had experienced and discovered thus far and where I was leaning in my next purchase, and he talked me into the Johnny Walker.

Go for the Johnny Walker Green.  The Glenfiddich Solara is excellent, but I think the Green has the edge and is excellent for someone like you who is just getting into scotch.  It will not disappoint! Matter of fact, I had an old college chum over last weekend and got out a new bottle of Green Label and while it has been maybe a year since my last glass of it, I shook my head at how damn good it is!  Tremendous stuff and I think you will like it because it is somewhat similar to Glenfiddich 12.

 Thanks, Jason, for your help...you were right.  Although I have YET to try the Solara, I am very happy with the Johnny Walker Green and drank about a third of the bottle last weekend after the Bruins game, listening to tunes in AA's dungeon.  (Thanks again, bud,  for the great ticket, grub, tunes and friendship)  I would highly recommend Jason's blog for scotch reviews, including his review of Johnny Walker Green Label.  Cheers to you, Jason!
The Green Label is very complex, owing to the fact that it's a blend of four 15-year-old single-malts from four different distillers from the four corners of Scotland.  From the Johnny Walker website:

Four signature malts provide the key taste influences for this 15-year-old whisky. Talisker™ introduces power and depth of character, Caol Ila™ contributes mystery and intensity and, at its heart, Cragganmore™ provides a sweet maltiness, while Linkwood™ adds a final touch of finesse.

So if you've had the Black Label, which I have, and didn't like it, don't use that as a reason not to try this.  This has opened my mind a bit regarding single malts versus blends, though I still plan to mostly stick to single malts for now; but who knows where my preferences will go the more I try different ones.

Statement Game

The Boston Bruins are now 14-0-1 in their last 15 games as the result of a convincing 3-1 win over the Penguins in Pittsburgh last night.  Claude Julien downplayed that this was a statement or measuring stick game, essentially saying that to get real high about this game could lead to being too low coming into less sexy games; that the Bruins take it one game at a time and figure out how to win one game at a time.  If you look at how this game was won and who contributed in key ways, it is very hard to argue with him.  Early key goals were scored by Gregory Campbell and Benoit Pouliot.


The Bruins killed off two 5-on-3s last night totaling 3 minutes and 10 seconds, thanks to great saves by Tim Thomas, of course, but equally because of the patient and perfect defense of the other three guys on the ice. Then Tyler Seguin, who had less ice time than usual due to the team having to kill all that penalty time, gets a power play goal early in the 3rd period to essentially put this one away, especially given how solidly defensively the Bruins were playing and how on top of his game Thomas was.
Thomas has won 10 straight games, including three shutouts, with a .950 save percentage and 1.7 GAA over that time. Give Marc-Andre Fluery credit though. He had a few stand-on-your-head saves last night that kept the game closer than it really was. If you take away those saves and the two 5-on-3s, the score would have reflected even more closely how much Boston dominated this game, despite being outshot by the Penguins.  In fact, David Krejci hit pipe twice in this game.
This was a very spirited game, reflected in a little chipiness, a couple of fights and a lot of yapping (even between Crosby and Krejci). It was obvious how much both teams wanted this one. Hopefully the Bruins did as Julien said and didn't get too high because they play again tonight in The Peg for the first time in over 15 years, a perfect setup for a trap game.  But ever since they started this current run, after starting very slowly with a 3-7 record, they have avoided letdowns by not being too high or too low.  We shall see tonight.

Around the sports world (open thread)

I'll touch on a few things briefly but don't be afraid to comment on something I didn't mention.

The Major League Baseball Winter Meetings have begun, though the Miami Marlins got a head start last night by signing Jose Reyes to a big, long-term deal.  What do you think about this signing and how it affects the Marlins chances of winning a division that has the Phillies and Braves already loaded?  Rumors have it that they're going to go after Albert Pujols.  Do you have an opinion on who will go where or what you'd like to see your team do at the Winter Meetings?

Ron Santo was just voted in the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee.  Do you have an opinion on his worthiness to be in the Hall?  I'm on the fence myself but I will say this:  It's too bad the Veterans Committee didn't do this a couple years ago when Santo was still alive.

Kurt Busch was just released from his contract with Penske Racing.  How shocking is that, that a former Champion who's still very much in his prime, arguably one of the top 10 drivers in NASCAR, has been released without a ride for next season?  There are no open rides either, although if there suddenly were an open sponsored ride, he'd have to be at the top of the list, wouldn't he?  Where do you see him ending up?  What kind of message does that send to his kid brother, who is more talented but without a championship and more of a hothead than Kurt?  Who is Roger Penske going to put in that seat; one of the available guys like David Ragan (all of whom would be a step down from Busch) or Sam Hornish, who's already in the stable but has never performed in a stock car like he did in an Indy car?  Or maybe lure someone away who already has a ride?  I haven't seen this mentioned but it wouldn't surprise me.  Then that would open up a ride for Kurt Busch.  Kurt could possibly find a sponsor and shop that to a team in an effort to get them to add another car but that'll be a tough sell given what happened that lead to his release from Penske.

Would you like to talk about the NFL games this weekend?  There's plenty to talk about, from the Packers remaining undefeated to the Broncos and Tim Tebow winning again to Jason Garrett icing his own kicker in the Cowboys loss to the Cardinals or how the playoffs are shaping up or how your team is doing.

So feel free to talk about the NHL, the NBA, the EPL or the fact that even though this wasn't an official event, Tiger Woods won his first tournament in two years at the Chevron World Challenge.

UPDATE:  Apparently Adam Vinatieri was booed in Foxboro on Sunday.  What the hell is up with that?  The greatest clutch kicker in NFL history, a guy who never whined, who got exempted twice and who only left after they didn't want to pay him, the guy who is the most responsible for them even getting to and winning that first Super Bowl.  And this isn't even his first trip back to Foxboro, is it?  This is a held, idiotic, wrong minded grudge lasting that long? 

More BS From The BCS

On Sunday, the Final BCS rankings were announced and the SEC scored two teams in the title game.  And while almost everybody South of the Mason-Dixon line is happy out to the plains of West Texas, the rest of the country is shaking their heads and saying that it is a bunch of crap.  Except those that work for the four-lettered sports station who has been pushing for this for over a month now.  The BCS got this wrong again.  It seems like every 2 years or so, we have problems with this stupid ranking system that the BCS puts forth.  Let's go through history and show why the SEC zealots should be ashamed of themselves.

2000 - the BCS Title Game:  Oklahoma vs. Florida State.  This was the first fiasco with the BCS.  Miami and Washington along with FSU had 10-1 records.  Miami had defeated the Seminoles and Washington had beaten the Canes.  In a flop of a National Championship game, Oklahoma won 13-2.  Miami and Washington destroyed their opponents in their respective Bowl games making the BCS formula obsolete and a new one becoming the working model.  The second one didn't last long.

2001 - The BCS Title Game:  Miami vs. Nebraska.  Holy crap, were there upset football fans from the South over this one.  Nebraska was awarded the #2 slot in the BCS when they didn't win their own conference.  The West was not thrilled either because Oregon thought that they should have been in the title game.  But when Colorado upset the Huskers to claim the Big 12 North crown and got blown out by the Ducks 38-16 in the Fiesta Bowl, the cries grew louder and louder from football fans all across the country that a non-Conference Champion should not play for the national championship.  Remember this, SEC fans?

2003- BCS Title Game:  LSU vs. Oklahoma.  Yet again, the name recognition overcomes the performance on the football field.  In the Big 12 Championship game, Kansas State beats Oklahoma giving them matching 11-1 records.  And the name recognition of a perennial power allows Oklahoma to be selected into the title game.  K-State was better that year by a good margin, but since Oklahoma had their preseason high ranking and name value, the Sooners went on to lose the BCS title game to LSU 21-14.  This time USC was yelling that a Non-conference winner should not be allowed to play for the title.

2004 - BCS Title Game:  USC vs. Oklahoma.  SEC fans were screaming about this one again.  Auburn had went through the SEC undefeated and looked like they might be the best team in the land.  Alas, they didn't have the name recognition to overtake either USC or Oklahoma.  And they became even angrier when the Trojans blew the doors off the Sooners 55-19.  Utah also went undefeated that season.

2006 - BCS Title Game:  Ohio State vs. Florida.  While the BCS got this one right, it is the way that SEC fans and coaches went about it that still sticks in my craw when it comes to their argument.  Michigan had lost to Ohio State in a great game.  And there was talk about a rematch in the BCS title game.  Well, when Nick Saban was asked about it, he said that Michigan had their shot and somebody else deserved that spot in the title game.  I wonder what he says about the 2011 BCS fiasco we are having right now?  And the SEC was making threats about things and their fans were claiming that the BCS was biased against the SEC.  In the end, it worked out where Florida made a drastic climb into the #2 spot over the Wolverines and won the title.  And they got their way about not having a rematch in the National Championship game.  Wonder if they will argue about that same principle in 2011?

2007:  BCS Title Game:  Ohio State vs. LSU.  This is one where the SEC got the big benefit of the doubt.  LSU had 2 losses, but got into the title game over Georgia, USC, and Oklahoma.  LSU did win the national title and we started to see the SEC bias that the BCS has.  And it isn't the computers.  It is the human polls.  Because most writers and coaches will give the benefit of the doubt ot a school that has a storied past.  Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State from the Big 10 have all benefited from that fact as well as Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and other schools from the SEC.  It is the way that the human voters vote.  Especially coaches.

2011:  BCS Title Game:  LSU vs. Alabama.  I don't care if this game might be entertaining.  I don't care if these two schools have tons of history behind them.  LSU is the #1 in college football.  As for Alabama, in my way of seeing things, they might not be even #3.  Go back to 2001 and 2004 and see what SEC fans were saying about a non-conference winner playing for the National Championship.  I agreed with them then.  See what the SEC fans in 2006 were screaming about when there was a possibility of an Ohio State - Michigan rematch for the National Championship.  I agreed with them then as well.

The SEC argument about the polls and computers spit out the two teams and that is it, is a complete line of Bulls***!  They have argued again and again that the BCS shouldn't reward a team that didn't win their League title.  They have argued that a rematch of a Regular season game shouldn't be played for the National Championship.  So what happens this year?  Because it might favor a team or a league that they like, they argue the exact opposite points that they have been doing for the past decade.  Well, I ain't go to be a b**** for ESPN, the BCS, the SEC, or anybody else.  I will continue to say that if you do not win your Conference Championship, you cannot play for the BCS National Championship.  And that goes for each and every conference in the country.  I will continue to say that a rematch of a regular season game is not allowed in the BCS National Championship game.  You had a shot a defeating a team and lost, then you don't get a rematch in #1 vs. #2 game because you have already proven which team is the dominant one.  There are over 120 BCS football teams out there.  Someone else deserves the shot at defeating the team that a school proved that year that they couldn't. 

I am not a shill for Oklahoma State.  In fact, I am a B1G fan.  My favorite team is the Iowa Hawkeyes.  I do see biases in voting and perceptions.  The two changes that I would have take place in the BCS system in addition to the two provisions above is that there are no official polls taken ranking the college teams until week #5.  If that would have happened this year, you would have a very different Top 25 poll at the end of this season.  And I would take away the vote from the coaches.  Let's see here.  These gentlemen are working at least 70 hours a week to prepare for their football games.  And then we ask for them to watch and rank other teams?  That is ludicrous.  Hire 70 people for the sole purpose of watching games and evaluating the teams.  I am tired of administrative assistants filling out coaches votes for the polls.  Ask almost any head coach about a team like Iowa State.  They won't know diddly squat about the team.  Ask them about TCU.  Same thing.  TCU is ranked #15.  But the head coaches don't care about TCU unless they are going to play them. 

The BCS isn't a good idea, but unless there is a playoff where you extend the season by 2 or 3 games, then this is what we have.  We need to make it the best that we can to assure ourselves that we get rid of all the controversy that we can.  Right now, that isn't happening.  And the next BCS Title Game is a product of not doing the best thing for the BCS to actually get the two best teams out on the field playing for the National Championship.  I hope that LSU comes out and destroys Alabama by at least 21 points.  Then we have another bad title game and the SEC has egg on their face because of it.

They Just Keep On Winning

Zebster and I had a “blog challenge” this past week. My Toronto Maple Leafs played a home-and-home series against his Boston Bruins on Wednesday and Saturday and our bet was who was going to win this series. As you can tell from this picture of a brutal check by Milan Lucic on Mike Van Ryn from a few seasons ago things didn’t go well for yours truly.

WEDNESDAY: Bruins 6 – Leafs 3

This game was out of hand before I got home from the office. I recorded the game on my DVR and somehow I sat through the whole thing. Lucic destroyed the Leafs defense with his stick this time, potting two goals. Both Tyler Seguin and Phil Kessel had an assist each, but Seguin get the nod because Kessel was a –3. Ouch!

SATURDAY: Bruins 4 – Leafs 1

Not even the return of Optimus Reim (James Reimer) in net fazed the Bruins as they won their second straight game and fourth overall against the Leafs. At least the Leafs didn’t roll over and die like they did in their previous three contests but the results were the same.

This game was out of hand once the Bruins scored their third goal early in the third period. That was about the time when I picked up my Android tablet and started reading Shorthanded: The Untold Story Of The Seals and periodically looked at the television when something happened.

The good news? The Leafs are a very respectable 14-6-2 against the rest of the NHL. Maybe we’re still playoff bound but there’s no way the Leafs can match up with the Bruins unless Burkie steals another Joffrey Lupul or Dion Phaneuf from another NHL team in his next midseason blockbuster trade.