Sports

I woke up thinking about the bull poop blue line offsides goal challenge in the NHL.

I had nightmares about it all night. Woke up in a furious sweat.

It’s clear the all mighty wants me to settle this situation once and for all. It’s too serious to leave this in the hands of the inept hockey commissioner.

The Solution(s): Either

1. Chip every player’s skates. We are all waiting for the first use of true technology for use in officiating in a major sport. I thought it would be the strike zone in baseball. A logical place to start.

Maybe more logical is a sensory system that detects when a skate crosses a line.

Ask a runner how they knew there time in the Boston Marathon. They crossed two lines. A starting line and a finish line. Gee, I wonder if it works for blue lines? Doy!

2. If the linesman doesn’t call it, it’s not offsides period.

There are 130-150 Blue Line Goal Challenges a year. Of those, 30-45 are overturned and called no goal.

The NHL could use 30-45 more goals a season with the walruses minding the net these days. I’ll take this solution all day.

Soog. Out.

As the Boston Bruins (20-5-6) continue their losing streak to a loss over the Ottawa Senators (5-2 In Regulation) how will they fair over the Washington Capitals (22-5-5)?

With the way the Bruins have been playing, you make think they aren’t a playoff team anymore. They are in a slump, and players like David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand who are or we’re the teams main goal scorers aren’t producing. The other night they both got two assists each but no goals. With Patrice Bergeron in the line up again, he made his return to the ice against Ottawa where he went on to score a goal along with Jake Debrusk.

The Washington Capitals have always been a top 5 team. With players like Alexander Ovechkin (21 G / 12 A), T.J. Oshie (11 G / 11 A), Jakub Vrana (15 G / 12 A), and goal tender Braden Holtby ( 2.84 GAA / .909 SV%). They can put up some major points, and with the Bruins struggling getting points on the board early in the game can be a challenge.

Starting Goalies:

Boston: Tuukka Rask

Washington: Braden Holtby

Tonight’s Game: 7PM- Capital One Arena- Washington D.C.

The Boston Bruins (20-4-6) continue their losing streak as they just lost to the Colorado Avalanche Saturday (4-1 In regulation). They look to host the Ottawa Senators (12-17-1) tonight at the TD Garden.

The last time these two teams met was November 27th, where the Boston Bruins went on to beat Ottawa in regulation. So who knows, they could potential repeat that, or they could extend their losing streak to 3 games. The biggest struggle is no longer health for the Bruins, its scoring goals to late. They haven’t been producing much offense in their past few games.

Key factors: With David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand in a slump right now. In fact the last goal scored by David Pastrnak came all the way back since Thanksgiving. That doesn’t seem like a long time to not have a goal but for the goal scorer for the whole NHL not to have one? He seems to be slowing down just a little. Outside of tonight game, Boston Bruins placed defenseman Steven Kampfer on waivers for the sole purpose of assignment to Providence.

Ottawa has the home ice advantage tonight, so that may play a huge factor in the way they play the game tonight. Ottawa will be without goal tender Craig Anderson for about a week while he deals with an apparent knee injury. Anders Nilsson will look to play in between the pipes (3.10 GAA / .910 SV%).

Tonights Game: 7:30PM- Candian Tire Centre- Ontario, Canada

All good things must come to an end eventually. With the Boston Bruins (20-3-6) losing to the Chicago Blackhawks Thursday night (4-3 in Overtime) the 8 game winning streak ends. With an impressive 3 goal 3rd period to make it go into overtime is remarkable, but they came up to short.

The Boston Bruins will be hosting the Colorado Avalanche (18-8-2) tonight. Some takeaways and key headlines for tonight Patrice Bergeron skating, but on no contact list. He won’t be playing on today’s matchup but he is very close for a return. With David Pastrnak still on the top of scoring goals, it seems other teams are “targeting” him. You can see that from the last few games we have encountered with Montreal, Carolina, and New York. So with that in mind be sure to keep a close eye on Pastrnak throughout the season. Hopefully the referees do to.

Not much to really reflect on other than the Boston Bruins needing to score first and holding a lead. Late game goals, and going into overtime doesn’t seem to be working for the team.

Starting Goalies:

Boston: Tuukka Rask

Colorado: Philipp Grubauer

Tonight’s game: 7PM- TD Garden- Boston, Mass.

With the Boston Bruins (20-3-5) continuing their winning streak to 8 games with a win over Carolina Hurricanes Tuesday Night (2-0) in regulation, their were a couple notables to take away from that. 1.) Jaroslav Halak played in his 500th career game, and on top of that he went on to get the win with a shut out. 2.) David Krejci Scored his 200th career goal which is a milestone but the veteran center said “Its just a number.”

Tonight’s match-up against the Chicago Blackhawks (10-12-5) looks like an easy win since Chicago is having the worst start to their season. Wrong… Even though Chicago is on a losing streak doesn’t mean they can’t win. All in all you take a look back at the record between Boston and Chicago you’ll see that these two teams are apart of the Original Six so they have seen each other a lot. To be exact these two teams of played each other 590 times (268W/ 239L/ 79T/ 4OL).

Chicago has a powerful offensive unit with names like Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Brent Seabrook, Andrew Shaw, Duncan Keith, etc. My personal experience and seeing these star players it’s always a challenge for opposing teams. On top of Chicago having goal scoring players, how will the Boston Bruins offense compare tonight?

We all have to admit the past few games Boston hasn’t really been scoring goals until the 2nd or 3rd period. Take last nights game for example. Boston didn’t score a goal till the 3rd with 5 minutes remaining. Then another goal 1 minute and 8 seconds after. Sure they went on to win but they have to start scoring first.

In the net tonight:

Boston- Tuukka Rask

Chicago- Robin Lehner

Tonight’s Game: 7PM- TD Garden, Boston.

Tonight’s match-up is special not for the Boston Bruins (19-3-5) winning streak, or the Carolina Hurricanes (16-10-1) are coming off a win over Tampa Bay. Its special because the last time Boston and Carolina played was in last seasons Eastern Conference Final where the Boston Bruins went on to sweep Carolina in four games. But with that being in the past, tonight is a clean slate for Carolina. Will the Boston Bruins continue their streak, or will Carolina Hurricanes start a streak of their own.

Key factors for the Boston Bruins is health. Patrice Bergeron will remain out and noted as day-to-day. When will he return is solely based on how he recovers. On the brighter side of health and injuries; David Backes returned to the line up last Sunday when the Boston Bruins faced the Montreal Canadiens. In his return he went on to score not only a goal but his first goal of the season. Of course the star for the Boston Bruins this season is hands down David Pastrnak. With 25 Goals on the season he continues to lead the NHL in that category.

On the Carolina Hurricanes side of the story, and what to watch out for is Jordan Staal, and his power play unit where he is accompanied by Nino Niederreiter and Lucas Wallmark. On top of that you also have to be acreful of Teuvo Teravainen, and Andrei Svechnikov. Both very good talent to have on any team. Ex- Bruin Dougie Hamilton is having a spectacular season by leading his team in Shots on Goal (94) and having 26 points in 26 games as well. All and all, Carolina is a strong team and very talented.

Tonight’s game: 7PM- TD Garden, Boston

Upcoming Games:

Thursday, Dec. 5 vs. Chicago Blackhawks, 7 p.m. ET- TD Garden, Boston

Saturday, Dec. 7 vs. Colorado Avalanche, 7 p.m. ET – TD Garden, Boston

Let’s get this out of the way:

I know Tom Brady is the Greatest of All Time.  I believe him to be up there with Gretzky and Jordan. 
I know the Pats are 10-2.
‘In Bill I Trust’ is tattooed on my face. 

I believe the Pats will beat the Chiefs next week because I am a homer at heart.  

Also, I need them to win because I’m going over my buddy Spud’s house and he is miserable to watch a game with when our teams lose.  I’m talking you drink twice as much, twice as fast because he is that horrible to be around should the local team be down. 

However;
The only time the Pats have had success at the expense of the opponent in the last 4 weeks has been in the No Huddle.  Where was that yesterday? Was it the 3rd string centers fault? Does he not know the drill? I highly doubt it. How about 5 wide?  

I’m willing to accept, without knowing who was actually sick, that we can rightfully blame some of the play on the flu.  When I have a cold, you’d think the plague had struck me and I was at the point of last rites. No chance I could play tackle football with the plague or a cold.

With that, I’m hoping that Marcus Cannon was sick and therefore found himself to be a turnstile on passing downs. 

Tell me Sanu was ill and that is why his routes and hands were so sloppy.  Tell me his head was stuffed so that he didn’t have the energy to yell over at the sidelines and ask for a replay after he was so clearly interfered with in the 4th.  

Please tell me that Josh McDaniels had the plague and that is why, when the Texans went up 28-9 with 9:53 left in the game, he went into garbage time mode.  The offense messed around with clock bleeding runs and short tosses up the middle. That left them with 50 seconds after the Pats brought it to 28-22 instead of the extra 3 minutes or so the Pats ran off the clock.  Inexplicable. 

As for Tommy Sour Puss; hey kid, at what point are you going to accept that it’s December and nobody else is walking through that door.  Who are you mad at? How about turning some of that mad at yourself because you have sucked for whatever reason these past 4 weeks. You want to blame it on everyone else or are you going to live up to your standard interview answer and ‘be hardest on myself for a bad performance’? 

Enough moping about AB.  Your man let you down by threatening a woman.  The Pats tried and he failed. For all you dunderheads who are saying the Pats should bring him back now, a news flash:  He threatened a woman via text and the NFL would never let him take another snap this season. Get that through your skull and dream of Gronk dancing around in a Lakers cheerleader uniform. 

Unhappy with the rookie receivers?  Not on the same page? They make rookie mistakes?  Gee, if only there was a ‘get to know you’ training where you could initiate the newbies to how you would like them to approach the game.  Oh wait, there is! OTAs! That’s right, you were right down the street so you couldn’t go to the OTAs what with all the playdates and TB12 appearances.  Shucks!

This whole benching of a rookie after one mistake is absolutely counter to adult learning processes.  First of all, the ball should have never been thrown. That’s on the 42 year old adult. Second, you spent a 1st round draft pick on N’Keal Harry.  When you bench/ignore him after a gaff, he doesn’t learn how to be better.

How about sending him right back out there and run the same play the way you did with Sanu when he first got here?  How about, instead of scowling at him, you shake him by his shoulder and say ‘forget about it kid, we’re on to the next set of downs.’  The kid is 6’4” 225 and you have him sitting down on an 8 yard curl. He’s already showed you he knows the sideline, back shoulder route.  You gotta be kidding me with this nickel and dime poop with this kid. Coach the kid from the huddle! As Frank Slade said in ‘Scent of a Woman’ 

“Let him continue on his journey.

You hold this boy’s future in your hands, Committee.

It’s a valuable future, believe me.

Don’t destroy it. Protect it. Embrace it. It’s gonna make you proud one day, I promise you.”

Look, I know the Pats are 10-2 and that is a great record.  I love that 3 of the 4 remaining games are at the Razor. However two of those games are against the Chiefs and the very good Bills.  The Bills have that defense that can penetrate the Pats susceptible O-Line and rattle Tommy Five Steps.  
Forget the fellowship of the miserable, there are reasonable people who are concerned that the Boogeyman have been Ghostbuster’d and that Tommy Four Two is playing like any man his age.

Is this the week that Brady realizes it isn’t leadership to piss and moan about your receivers and he puts on show with what he has? 

I think he will.  I think the KC defense is just what the doctor ordered for a struggling offense. 

Soog. Out. 

It’s time to give Dwight Evans his due.

The 2020 Modern Era Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot candidates are:

Dwight Evans, Steve Garvey, Tommy John, Don Mattingly, Marvin Miller, Thurman Munson, Dale Murphy, Dave Parker, Ted Simmons and Lou Whitaker

My ballot would be punched for Dwight Evans, Thurman Munson and Marvin Miller.

As has been the case in recent years, voters compare candidates who are on the bubble to the ‘worst’ Hall of Famers at their position.  That’s why the Hall of ‘Very Good’ now has undeserving members such as Tony Perez, Jack Morris, Bert Blyleven, Bruce Sutter, Andre Dawson, Craig Biggio, Allan Trammell, Mike Mussina and Harold Baines.   

I’m looking at where the former Sox right fielder stacks up with all of the HOF Right Fielders.  What I found is that, except for Batting Average, Dwight is smack dab in the middle of the HOFers in most major statistical categories.  Let’s take a look.  

There are 26 right fielders in the HOF.  Here is how Dewey stacks up versus Right Fielders currently in the Hall of Fame.  Get ready for a statistics headache.

WAR (Wins a player adds over average player at that position)

• Evans WAR is better than 14 current HOFers.  
• HOFers WAR Average- 71.5;  Dwight-67.1

WAR7 (Sum of the WAR of the best 7 seasons.  Need not be in a row)

• Evans WAR7 is better than 11 current HOFers
• HOFer WAR7 average-42.1; Dwight- 37.3

JAWS (Contains WAR/WAR7 to compare to average HOFers)

• Evans JAWS is better than 14 current HOFers
• HOFer JAWS Average- 56.8; Dwight- 52.2

Certainly, one of the main reasons Dewey isn’t already enshrined is his .272 batting average.  Only Reggie Jackson’s .262 is lower amongst right fielders in the Hall. However, no baseball player had more extra base hits in the decade of the 80s than the Sox right fielder

How does Evans stack up against current right fielders in the Hall of Fame in the more traditional metrics?  Let’s take a look.

385 Home Runs tops 17 of the 26 Right Fielders in HOF
.470 Slugging % tops 11 of the 26 Right Fielders in HOF

.840 OPS tops 12 of the 26 Right Fielders in HOF

127 OPS+ tops 8 of the 26 Right Fielders in HOF

.370 OBP tops 12 of the 26 Right Fielders in HOF

1384 RBI is more than 14 of 26 HOF RFs

2446 Hits is more than 8 of 26 HOF RFs

Dewey drew the 8th most walks of all Right Fielders ever which is better than 21 of those right fielders in the Hall which boosted his OBP.  Evans actually drew 16 more walks than Reggie Jackson while playing in 214 fewer games than Reggie Bar. 

It’s nearly impossible to be a better defensive right fielder; especially in what was one of the most difficult right fields in the game.  Evans is famous for patrolling the tricky Fenway outfield with an adroit glove and rocket arm. The strength and accuracy of his arm is often the first tool mentioned whenever Dwight’s name is invoked. 

Dewey graduates.  It’s time.  

Big talk out of Boston is health issues: Good and bad but mostly bad, with Bergeron still out but on the bright side David Backes makes a return after suffering an upper body injury he revived back on November 2nd. Backes is excited to return to the line up but with his return, Jack Studnicka was dropped back down to Providence to make the room necessary. The Boston Bruins (18-3-5) host the Montreal Candiens (11-9-6) in another rival match-up.

Coming off a Thanksgiving match-up against the New York Rangers and a huge overtime win with a goal by David Krejci keeps the Bruins on track with a spectacular winning streak. Boston Bruins hope to keep that trend going, but to do so they will have to play just as they did against Montreal last Tuesday night. They went to win that game 8-1!

Tonight’s Line Ups:

Boston Bruins

Brad Marchand–David Krejci–David Pastrnak
Jake DeBrusk–Charlie Coyle–Danton Heinen
Anders Bjork–Sean Kuraly–David Backes
Joakim Nordstrom–Par Lindholm–Chris Wagner

Zdeno Chara–Charlie McAvoy
Torey Krug–Brandon Carlo
Matt Grzelcyk–Connor Clifton

Tuukka Rask

Montreal Canadiens

Tomas Tatar–Phillip Danault–Brendan Gallagher
Artturi Lehkonen–Max Domi–Nick Suzuki
Nick Cousins–Jesperi Kotkaniemi–Joel Armia
Charles Hudon–Natw Thompson–Jordan Weal

Ben Chiarot–Shea Weber
Brett Kulak–Jeff Petry
Mikey Reilly–Cale Fleury

Carey Price

Tonight’s Game: 7PM- TD Garden, Boston

The Boston Bruins (17-3-5) host the post Thanksgiving match up and will take on the New York Rangers (12-9-2). What we have in store today is just incredible. Another Original 6 match-up, Chance to win six straight, and donning of the new sweaters.

Key Factors going in to todays afternoon game:

The New York Rangers look to extend a streak of their own to wining four in the row if they can do it today. Artemi Panarin putting up good numbers with just 32 points through 23 contests. Rangers are sixth in the metropolitan division just behind the Philadelphia Flyers and ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Boston Bruins are going to have Patrice Bergeron sit out the game today. As the mentioned they are going to take it easy with the center as he still battles a lower body injury. As we know he did not travel to play in any of the last two games. With that being said it looks like the line up will consist of David Krejci taking Patrice Bergeron spot, and Jack Studnicka will pair up with Charlie Coyle and Jake Debrusk. Bruins look to extend their win streak to six games and on top of that they look to extend their game point streak to 10.

Game Starts- 1PM- TD Garden, Boston