Red Sox honor the troops and veterans on Memorial Day by laying down to the White Sox

Boston (30-24) came home last night for the start of a homestand against the Chicago White Sox (25-31) at Fenway Park and they lost again, 7-3.

A two-game losing streak is hardly news in baseball, the streakiest of all sports, but more puzzling was Jon Lester's latest struggles. Lester (7-2) had an seven-game win streak snapped but that was deceiving since he hadn't pitched well in his last few starts but still picked up wins.

Last night, he threw a season-high 127 pitches but only went 5.2 innings, allowing seven earned runs on eight hits with four walks and four strikeouts.

The White Sox were bolstered by Jake Peavy (2-0) who many moons and shoulder surgeries ago used to be one of baseball's best pitchers. The hard drinking, dippin' good old boy went seven innings, allowing three earned runs on six hits with two strikeouts.

Chicago loaded the bases in the first inning and A.J. Pierzynski (2 hits) came through with a two-run single up the middle.

Boston got a run back in the first as Adrian Gonzalez (2 hits) crushed his tenth homer of the season, a solo shot into the Red Sox bullpen.

Providence, RI native Paul Konerko (2 hits) smacked a solo homer over the Monster in the third for a 3-1 White Sox lead.

Dustin Pedroia tied it up in the third with a two-run single of his own.

That's as close as the Red Sox would get through as Alexei Ramirez (2 hits) knocked Lester out of the game with a bloop two-run double in the sixth. The next batter, Carlos Quentin, added a two-run single off Dan Wheeler and that was it.

Alfredo Aceves goes for his third straight solid start tonight as he takes on Phil Humber.

Hell yes! Woooooo! Bruins reach their first Stanley Cup finals since 1990

I never played a day of organized hockey in my life so I'm not going to sit here and claim that the Boston Bruins have been my everything since I strapped on a pair of skates.

However, I will say that as I've gotten older and the three other Boston professional sports teams have all won championships in the last decade, the Bruins have become the last place for a real fan existence that you can find in this town. Up until now, the B's haven't been trendy, they always let their fans down and they are one of the most frustrating franchises in sports.

Well no more complaining from me or other true Bruins fans as they won the Eastern Conference finals last night by virtue of a scintillating 1-0 Game 7 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning at TD Garden.

Boston is back in the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since 1990 and they'll get it started on Wednesday in Vancouver against the Canucks.

It's only fitting that their epic series was capped off with one of their greatest wins in franchise history. Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas made 24 saves for his second shutout of the series and Nathan Horton had the game-winner at 12:27 of the third period (his eighth of the playoffs) to send the Garden into delirium.

People hate on soccer when it's 0-0 but it's hard to picture a hockey game being much more exciting even though both teams failed to score a goal for over 52 minutes of regulation. Unlike the NBA where the refs have to be front and center all the time, the NHL refs assigned to the game last night stayed out of the way and didn't call a single penalty (first time that's happened in 20 years)!

When Milan Lucic was stuffed on a breakaway on the first period, it was clear that Lightning goaltender Dwayne Roloson (37 saves) was sharp and it would probably be a very low scoring game.

Kudos to Tampa Bay for playing their asses off. Star Steven Stamkos took a Johnny Boychuk slap shot right off his nose in the second period and he only missed a few minutes of action. His face was disgusting but I have a new found respect for him since he sucked it up and got right back out there.

Andrew Ference started the goal with a long breakout pass to David Krejci. Dangerous David put a perfect backhand pass right between Roloson, a pair of Tampa Bay defensemen and on Horton's stick. All he had to do was redirect it in.

The Bruins will be heavy underdogs against the Canucks, who rolled through the Western Conference, but they wouldn't want it any other way. It's been clear in the postseason that this is a different Bruins team. They're not the choke artists of the past as they proved again and again (beating Montreal in a Game 7 overtime, sweeping the Flyers, beating Tampa Bay in another Game 7).

I'm not making any predictions but I think it's going to be a really good series. You have to remember that Vancouver has never won a Stanley Cup in their 40 years of existence (a longer drought than the B's by a year) so it's not like Boston's facing Detroit or something. The Bruins have Thomas, Zdeno Chara and a team full of guys that know their roles and don't get rattled.

Hockey in June! Pinch me.

Call me a jerk but I honestly hope Dice-K and Lackey never return

When did the 2011 Boston Red Sox become such a wagon?

Holy shit, they've won 12 out of their last 14 games after a tidy 6-3 win over the Detroit Tigers last night at Comerica Park.

As I said yesterday about Alfredo Aceves, spot starter Tim Wakefield (2-1) is doing an excellent job and at this point, I hope John Lackey and Daisuke Matsuzaka never return. It's much more satisfying to watch two guys with low expectations succeed as opposed to overpaid bums that were never good fits here anyways.

The Red Sox (29-22) are also alone in the American League East after the Yankees lost last night in Seattle. The Tigers (25-25) haven't shown much of a pulse yet against Boston this season, falling to 0-4.

Wakefield went seven innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits with two walks and two strikeouts.

Detroit's Rick Porcello (4-3) only lasted three innings as he allowed six earned runs on six hits with two walks and two strikeouts.

Jacoby Ellsbury (2 hits, stolen base) gave the Red Sox a 1-0 lead in the first as he scored on wild pitch by Porcello.

Miguel Cabrera tied it up in the first with an RBI single which scored Austin Jackson. The Tigers took their only lead of the game in the second when Jhonny Peralta hit a bomb (solo) off Wakefield.

Any thoughts of a win for the miserable people in Detroit was quickly extinguished as the Red Sox hung five runs on Porcello in the third. Ellsbury hit a solo homer (his sixth), Kevin Youkilis hit a two-run double and Carl Crawford hit a two-run homer (his fourth of the season).

Daniel Bard threw a scoreless 1-2-3 eighth on six pitches but Peralta hit an RBI double off Jonathan Papelbon (non-save situation) in the ninth but who cares?

Clay Buchholz takes the mound tonight for Boston against Detroit rookie lefthander Andy Oliver (who was called up when Phil Coke rolled his ankle the other night). Good luck to you guy, Red Sox are mashing right now.

Alfredo Aceves is better than John Lackey and Daisuke Matsuzaka, true story my friends

Baseball is a funny game. When you're a big market team like the Boston Red Sox you can afford terrible hiccups in free agency like John Lackey and Daisuke Matsuzaka and then you luck out with a scrap heap pickup like Alfredo Aceves.

I'm not exactly sure about his medical history, I assume the New York Yankees let him go because he had an arm issue or something but whatever the reason, I'm psyched that he's crossed over to their bitter rivals.

Yesterday afternoon, he submitted his second good start in a row after being added to the rotation (for the injured Lackey and Dice-K). The Red Sox (28-22) won their 11th game out of their last 13 and it was another laugher, 14-1 in the series opener at Detroit's (25-24) Comerica Park.

Aceves (2-0) went six innings, allowing five hits, one earned run with two walks and six strikeouts in a game that was called off after 7.5 innings because of rain.

Max Scherzer (6-2) entered as one of the AL's top pitchers so far this season but he left with a bruised ego as the Red Sox put up 14+ runs in the second straight game for the first time since 1998. Scherzer lasted only two innings, allowing seven hits, seven earned runs with two walks and a strikeout.

Jacoby Ellsbury (2 runs, 2 walks) had the most memorable hit, a three-run homer (his fifth bomb of the season). Moved up to the No. 6 spot, Carl Crawford continued to erase his terrible start. He went 4 for 5 with two triples, three RBIs and two runs.

Recent callups Josh Reddick (3 hits, 3 RBIs, 2 runs) and Drew Sutton (2 hits, 2 RBIs, 2 runs) also had big days that no doubt they'll be telling their grandkids or bums at the homeless shelter about in a few years.

Tim Wakefield (Boston's other substitute in the rotation) starts tonight against Tigers youngster Rick Porcello.

Roger Goodell Says Season Ticket Holders Want an 18 game Regular Season. Ummmmm WHAT?

*From Profootballtalk.com

Although expanding the regular season to 18 games has faded into the background as NFL owners and players have found other issues to fight about, Commissioner Roger Goodell has confirmed that he still thinks that’s the direction the NFL should go in. And Goodell says season-ticket holders agree with him.

“We do think it is attractive to season-ticket holders,” Goodell said on a conference call with Titans season-ticket holders. “I hear that all of the time from our season-ticket holders. We have not abandoned our position on that. We do think it is the right thing for the game. It improves the quality of what we do, and it improves the value for you as season-ticket holders. . . . We do think it is a benefit for everybody, but we want to do it the right way, and we want to do it responsibly. That includes the players’ perspective.’’

The players’ perspective is already clear: They don’t want an 18-game regular season. And polls have shown that most fans don't want an 18-game regular season.

Here's a serious question: Is Roger Goodell the most clueless person on the planet, or does he really think that season ticket holders WANT to pay for two extra games? The cost of going to an NFL game has skyrocketed in the last decade with the most egregious offense being when the Patriots jacked prices up by 1/3 after losing in the Super Bowl that will not be named.

Never mind the retarded logic that Goodell is using to expand the season. In the last few seasons, the NFL has cracked down on concussions, but Goodell clearly can't make the connection between more games and more injuries. Does he really want to protect the players, or make some extra money?

All I ask from Goodell is to not come across like he has the fans best interest in mind. This is the same guy who used the tornadoes in Alabama to deflect the "we want football" chants at the NFL Draft last month. Just the greediest, most selfish guy on the planet.

There is literally NOTHING wrong with the NFL. 16 games is perfect, not to mention the two bullshit preseason games that the teams charge full price for. Not to mention the fact that most teams require all money up front, even though the paying customers don't even know whether or not there will be football. Adding two extra games requires the fans to not only fork over hundreds of additional dollars before the season not to mention 50 dollars to park, hundreds of dollars in food and beer, and gas to get to the game.

It is this disconnect with the common fan that makes Gillette Stadium a fucking wine and cheese party half the time, the same disconnect that makes me walk by (and throw up in) a Victoria's Secret on the way into the stadium.

Stop speaking for us Roger. No one cares about the lockout until training camp starts. So keep dragging your feet and acting as our voice because you're not. No one wants to PAY MORE to attend football games, so you better hope that longtime season ticket holders give up their seats for corporate dickheads who wear boat shoes to Pats games and throw the football like girls in the parking lot before the game. Fans want football period. Not more football. And they certainly don't want to spend more money while the owners make record profits. Deuche.

Can I please trademark "It's never easy with the Boston Bruins"?

Before the Eastern Conference finals started between the Boston Bruins and the Tampa Bay Lightning a few weeks back, I felt that either way the series was going the distance (seven games).

Still I take no joy in knowing that I was right since the B's should have ended this series already. Tampa Bay won 5-4 at the St. Pete Times Forum last night to tie it up at 3 and send the teams back to the TD Garden tomorrow night for Game 7 and a shot in the Stanley Cup finals against the Vancouver Canucks (starting next Wednesday).

Last night's outcome couldn't be more simply defined: Tampa Bay's power play was 3 of 4 while Boston was 1 of 5. The gamesmanship from Lightning head coach Guy Boucher before Game 6 is irrelevant since the B's had more opportunities and also earned the first three power plays of the game so end of discussion.

I would love to dump on the Bruins for losing since it might make me feel temporarily better but they don't deserve it. They actually showed a ton of heart (rare for them) as they battled back from a 5-3 deficit in the third period and essentially ran out of time as Tampa Bay switched roles with Boston and hung on for dear life.

The loss wasted a hat trick by David Krejci along with a big boy game by his linemates Milan Lucic (1 goal, 1 assist) and Nathan Horton (2 assists). Unfortunately, the Lightning received similar primetime performances from Martin St. Louis (2 goals, 1 assist), Steven Stamkos (1 goal, 2 assists) and Vincent Lecavalier (2 assists).

Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas (21 saves) continued his trick or treat series with another rough outing. Lightning goaltender Dwayne Roloson (16 saves) didn't do much and looked extremely shaky as well but hey, he came out on top.

Besides the power play struggles for Boston, which everyone in New England could point out (including my dog and cat at this point), the much more unreported nightmare has been the Bruins' propensity to give up both early and late goals in periods. Two times last night, Tampa Bay scored with 36 seconds or less into a frame. That's simply unacceptable at any time, especially now with so much at stake.

Teddy Purcell made it 1-0 Tampa Bay 36 seconds into Game 6, scoring his fifth of the playoffs assisted by Lecavalier. Before Bruins fans could freak out too much, Lucic had scored his third of the playoffs (at 7:09 from Horton and Johnny Boychuk) and Krejci potted his eighth of the playoffs (at 16:30 off a nice feed from Daniel Paille of all people).

All the effort and hard work in the first was quickly wiped out in the second as the Lightning got a pair of power play goals. St. Louis tied it up at 7:55 (from Lecavalier and Stamkos) and Purcell scored his second at 13:35 (from Steve Downie and Brett Clark).

Boston always seems to play better from behind so a one-goal deficit wasn't the end of the world, particularly since they were on the road (where they're more mentally tough for some unknown reason).

Stamkos scored (his sixth of the postseason, from Eric Brewer and St. Louis) another power play goal, 34 seconds into the third and that seemed like game over.

Krejci wouldn't let the B's go down so quietly as he cut it to 4-3 at 9:46 on the power play (!). Horton and Tomas Kaberle had the assists.

Before you could even get too excited though, Boston made sure to punch you in the gut one more time as St. Louis scored the game-winner 29 seconds later. Downie and Stamkos assisted on a play that was a complete fail by so many Bruins. Boychuk pinched in offensive zone and got caught up ice, Thomas over committed and came out too far and Ference didn't cut off the cross ice feed. Yuck.

Boucher was still in a gift giving mood and he let Krejci get his hat trick (Boston's first in the playoffs since Cam Neely in 1991) at 13:28 from Lucic and Kaberle. However, the Bruins couldn't find the tying goal and are forced to play one more deciding game.

I don't care if you have tickets to Game 7, no sane Bruins fan (an oxymoron) wanted it to happen. Boston survived Game 7 against the Montreal Canadiens in the first round but in the last three seasons they've departed the playoffs with brutal Game 7 losses. The last two were particularly unforgivable since they were on home ice.

Tomorrow night will answer many questions regarding head coach Claude Julien's legacy along with the leaders of the team: Thomas, Zdeno Chara and Patrice Bergeron to name a few. If the Bruins lose, it's time to shake things up since this group will have maxed out and they won't go any further with a coach as stubborn and simple-minded as Julien.

Red Sox take a dump on the Cleveland Indians, leave town with a series win

I was all set to watch the series finale yesterday afternoon between the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field. However, when I flipped the game on the radio (while I was on the computer), I listened in amazement as they hung seven on Indians (30-16) starter Mitch Talbot in the first inning, en route to a 14-2 ass kicking.

Thanks to the blowout, I felt comfortable going to the gym and catching bits and pieces of the game when I could. The Red Sox (27-22) won the series and their 10th game out of their last 12 thanks to a season-high 20 hit attack including four homers and six doubles.

Jon Lester (7-1) was the lucky recipient of the ridiculous output from his offense. Lester threw six scoreless innings, allowing three hits with a walk and seven strikeouts. After a couple subpar outings in a row, it was nice to see him be lights out once again.

Talbot (1-1) deserves some sympathy since he was making his first start off the DL, against a red-hot team, but thems the breaks sometimes. In three innings, he allowed 12 hits, eight earned runs with two walks and a strikeout.

Carl Crawford led the Red Sox, going 4 for 4 in his best game so far in an underwhelming season in Boston. He had a homer, two doubles, three runs and two RBIs. Jacoby Ellsbury (2 walks) and Drew Sutton (2 runs) had three hits while Dustin Pedroia (3 RBIs), Adrian Gonzalez, David Ortiz, Jarrod Saltalamacchia (3 RBIs) and Mike Cameron all had two hits.

Pedroia, Ortiz and Saltalamacchia had the other homers in this joke of a game.

Boston travels to Detroit for a four-game series beginning with an afternoon game today. Alfredo Aceves takes on Max Scherzer.

Not This Shit Again

Once again, the Bruins displayed a half-assed effort and Tampa Bay finally got their power play going last night, winning 5-4 and tying the series 3-3. Game 7 is tomorrow night in Boston.

In what is quickly becoming a theme this series, the Bruins once again allowed a goal in the opening minute of the first period. After David Krejci got kicked out of the faceoff circle, Teddy Purcell took the puck off the faceoff and fired a strike past Tim Thomas to take an early lead. Purcell shifted to his left after Chris Kelly replaced Krejci in the faceoff dot and made a great adjustment along with Vinny Lecavalier

The Bruins responded with goals from Milan Lucic and David Krejci. Both shots were wristers that beat Roloson top shelf glove side. The Bruins dominated the first period after getting scored on early and it looked like it was going to be another long night for Roloson.

Unfortunately for the Bruins, Game 6 was all about the power play. Taking advantage of a Denis Seidenberg cross check and a shitty interference call on Rich Peverley, the Lightning were finally able to capitalize on the man advantage.

While Tampa could lay claim to the best PP in the NHL playoffs, the Bruins PK unit bottled them up in the first five games of the series, as Tampa was just 2 for 18 with the extra man. All of that changed last night.

Martin St. Louis and Teddy Purcell each scored in the 2nd on the aforementioned power plays and just like that, Tampa was up 3-2 after 2 periods.

It obviously wouldn't be a Bruins game without allowing another early period goal, and that is exactly what happened, when Steven Stamkos scored on the PP just 34 seconds into the third. The Lightning had a man up because of a cross check penalty on Andrew Ference at the end of the third. More on this shitty call later on. This game seemed to be over after the Stamkos goal but the Bruins answered with a PP goal of their own, as Krejci scored his second of the night.

The celebration didn't last long, thanks to another St. Louis goal just 30 second later. Krejci scored once more to cut the lead to one with a bit more than six minutes left. His hat trick was wasted as the Bruins could not tie the game, even as their frantic effort produced several scoring chances. Time ran out and Game 7 was guaranteed.

*Game Notes*

*The Bruins power play sucks balls. Yes, Krejci scored a PP goal in the third but the Bruins had more than a few chances to make Tampa pay for their penalties. Julien had Chara down low for the first two PP attempts and they were actually able to keep the puck in the Tampa zone. However on their third attempt, Chara was back on the blue line and the Bruins mounted virtually no offense. Not only does their decision making suck, but their breakout is just brutal. Kaberle is clearly not the man for the job, as the Tampa forecheck imposed their will on the Bruins PP.

*Tampa had no problem on the power play last night. Probably because they have skilled players who have the ability to gain entry in the zone. On most occasions, Stamkos was the QB of the power play, taking the puck from his own end attacking the Bruins' blue line with skill and speed, something that Kaberle lacks. If you need a guy to dump it in the corner though, Kaberle's your man.

*Would this series still be going on if we were a bit better on the PP? I don't think so. If the Bruins are lucky enough to win the Cup with this awful PP, it would be the equivalent of Trent Dilfer winning a Super Bowl despite being the most average QB ever.

*I am back to despising Michael Ryder. As an alleged "sniper", he should put the puck on net more. But he would much rather try to dangle through the entire defense and see what happens. He had only one shot on net. There were three or four times last night when Ryder tried to make it a one man show, rather than just throw a puck on net and hope for a rebound. The worst occasion was late in the third when he held onto the puck and took it around the net, only to run into Kaberle and lose control of the puck. I'm literally running out of ways to bash Kaberle. He actually got more ice time in Game 6, skating for just under 20 minutes just one game after only skating 13. I expect less minutes for him in Game 7, especially on the PP, but you know how much Claude loves sticking to his guns.

*Speaking of sticking to your guys, it's time for Mark Recchi to start getting Shawn Thornton minutes. He is simply giving the Bruins nothing at all offensively, failing to record a point thus far in this series. In his 15 minutes of ice time (about 5 minutes too much) Recchi failed to put a shot on net. Not exactly the kind of production you want from a top 6 forward. I'd like to see Seguin on this line in game 7 but Julien will undoubtedly stay the course.

*Both Tampa Bay and Boston's best players showed up last night. Lucic, Krejci, and Horton combined for 7 points and Stamkos, Lecavalier, and St Louis combined for 8. Both top lines will have to play like that in Game 7 to give their team a shot.

*Downie is such a homo. Did anyone else see the kiss face he gave to Ference? If this was the regular season, Downie would still be lying on the ice right now. Just total garbage.

*Is the Versus color commentator on the Tampa payroll? I am used to biased commentary from Jack Edwards but not from a national broadcast. Listen Eddie, I know the Bruins sucked last night, I have eyes. I don't need you telling me what they "should have done". Just shut up, call the game and leave the talking to Doc.

*I don't normally blame refs but last night was absurd. As Julien alluded to postgame, Guy Boucher asked a "particular" ref to be more balanced, and we saw that last night. The Peverley and Ference penalties were just bullshit, no other way to put it. Hats off to Tampa for taking advantage, but those were calls that shouldn't have been called in the first place.

*One more game. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared shitless.

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Red Sox finally top the world beating Indians

After four tries in 2011, the Boston Red Sox (26-22) finally beat the Cleveland Indians (30-16) 4-2 last night at Progressive Field.

Josh Beckett (4-1) picked up his first regular season win in Cleveland (who could ever forget his legendary start there in the 2007 playoffs?) after 6.2 innings. He allowed five hits, one earned run with three walks and six strikeouts.

Fausto Carmona (3-5) went eight innings for the Indians but he allowed five hits, four earned runs with one walk and seven strikeouts.

The unlikeliest of heroes stepped up at the plate for Boston as Jason Varitek hit a two-run homer, his first in almost a year (May 30, 2010).

Jonathan Papelbon gave up a solo homer to Travis Buck in the ninth but recovered to get his ninth save of the season.

Some Amish guy named Ezequiel Carrera gave Cleveland a 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the second which scored Buck.

Jed Lowrie tied it up in the third with a sacrifice fly which drove in Carl Crawford. The Red Sox went ahead for good later in the frame on Adrian Gonzalez's RBI double (scoring Jacoby Ellsbury).

Varitek's two-run bomb in the seventh plated David Ortiz.

Jon Lester takes on Mitch Talbot this afternoon in the series finale.

Black and Gold are getting it done

At times in the last few years as I got into the team more and more, I honestly never thought the Boston Bruins would reach this point in my entire life.

They are on the cusp of the Stanley Cup finals (for the first time in 21 years) after last night's 3-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning at TD Garden in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals.

As everyone knows, closing out a team is the toughest part (especially for this franchise) but don't you have the feeling that this year is different?

The B's are up 3-2 in the series thanks to another outstanding performance from goaltender Tim Thomas (33 saves). He made the save of the season (which really shouldn't surprise you if you've watched him for years) on Lightning scumbag Steve Downie which left Downie pouting alone on the bench after the game had long ended. Strange cat.

Tampa Bay gave Mike Smith (17 saves) his first career playoff start and he wasn't good or bad. The two goals that he gave up were impossible to stop by anyone while Boston added an empty-netter to close it out.

The crazy part about the win was that the Lightning came out flying in the first period while the Bruins seemed to be stuck in the locker room, on the tarmac at Logan Airport or at some other undisclosed location.

Simon Gagne gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead 1:09 into regulation after a 2-on-1 break from Steven Stamkos. Andrew Ference got caught up ice and Gagne was able to pot his fifth of the playoffs. If I had been in Boston at the time, I might have jumped off the Tobin Bridge but thankfully the Bruins always always play better from behind as everybody knows at this point.

Thomas held the fort for the rest of the period and his teammates finally woke up from their zombie-like slumber near the end of the frame as they got engaged physically and put four (4!) shots on Smith.

Nathan Horton was one of the only Bruins that was emotionally into it from the start (and that caused two stupid penalties on him) but he tied it up at 4:24 of the second period on a sublime one-timer. Horton's seventh of the playoffs (called by Ryan before the game started) featured a great backhand assist from Milan Lucic and Krejci had the second helper.

Brad Marchand (or as my girlfriend mistakenly called him-The Marshmallow Man) scored the game-winner at 15:56 after an even sweeter feed from Patrice Bergeron. Stationed along the boards, Bergeron whipped a forehand pass to Marchand, who skated past Martin St. Louis and tipped it past Smith (for his sixth of the playoffs). Zdeno Chara had the second assist as he started the play by holding the puck in Tampa Bay's zone.

Thomas made a huge save (helped out by the post) on Adam Hall early in the third period and then came the bananas stop on Downie which barely left the roof on the Garden.

Rich Peverley (second of the playoffs) put it away with an empty-netter at 19:47 of the third period, assisted by Chris Kelly.

So here we are. One more win and the Bruins will get to a place that nobody and I mean nobody predicted they would find themselves this postseason or maybe ever again. Game 6 is tomorrow night in Tampa Bay and Lightning part-time serial killer and head coach Guy Boucher has already announced that Dwayne Roloson is the starter again in between the pipes. It could be some gamesmanship from the Butcher, we shall see. If it's true, advantage Bruins.

Nothing is ever easy for this team or this franchise but for God's sakes, get it over tomorrow night. I don't want to see them in another Game 7 with a trip to the Stanley Cup finals on the line.

Cleveland rocks (or so I've been told)

Sooner or later in 2011, the Cleveland Indians will come back to Earth. Right? Maybe not for MLB's surprise top team.

For the fourth time this season in four games at Cleveland's Progressive Field, the Indians (30-15) beat the Red Sox (25-22). Last night, the Tribe rallied for a 3-2 win as Daniel Bard (1-4) once again failed to get the job done.

Bard deserves blame since he you know, threw the pitches. However, Red Sox manager Terry Francona should get some heat too since he had Bard face Asdrubal Cabrera (who was 5 for 5 on Sunday and had hit a solo homer earlier last night) with first base open and a struggling Shin-Soo Choo up next.

Cabrera hit an RBI double off Bard which scored Michael Brantley (who had tied it with an RBI single) with the winning run in the eighth.

Indians closer Chris Perez worked around two hits in the ninth to get his 13th save of the season. Carl Crawford ended the game by grounding into a double play.

Clay Buchholz started for Boston and yet again, he shut down the opposition enough to earn a win. He went 7.1 innings, allowing four hits, two earned runs and two walks with four strikeouts. He was pulled after 94 pitches since he threw an obscene 127 in his last start.

Former Red Sox pitcher Justin Masteron (who went to Cleveland in the Victor Martinez trade on July 31, 2009) continued to baffle his old team. He also got a no decision but he pitched well. He went 7.2 innings, allowing four hits, two earned runs with two walks and three strikeouts.

Dustin Pedroia gave the Red Sox a 1-0 lead in the third with an RBI single that scored Crawford.

Cabrera tied it up with his 10th homer of the season in the fourth inning.

Crawford answered with just his second homer of the season-solo of course-in the fifth.

Tonight figures to be another pitcher's duel as Josh Beckett opposes Fausto Carmona.

One More Win

It didn't begin well, but the Bruins were able to step their game up in the 2nd and 3rd periods, defeating the Lightning. 3-1. They are now just one win away from advancing to their first Stanley Cup Final since 1990.

The B's picked up where they left off in Game 4, allowing a Simon Gagne goal just 65 seconds into the game. Gagne took a pass from Steven Stamkos and beat Tim Thomas stick side for his 5th goal of the playoffs. Johnny Boychuk was defending, but couldn't get in the way of the pass to Gagne. Just like that, and B's killer Gagne put the Bolts on top.

After the opening goal, the Bruins went into panic mode, getting outskated, outhustled, and outshot in the first period. Their putrid effort to start the game seemed to be a carry over from the equally gross 2nd and 3rd stanzas in Game 4.
They couldn't get anything going in the first and were outshot 14-4. They were also unsuccessful on their only PP opportunity of the 1st, not exactly breaking news.

In the 2nd period, the B's looked like a different team, skating harder and upping the physicality, which should have been their M.O. to begin with. Their hard work was rewarded 4:24 into the 2nd when Nathan Horton let off a rocket of a one timer, beating Mike Smith and knotting the game at 1. Both Milan Lucic and David Krejci assisted on Horton's seventh goal of these playoffs.

Later in the 2nd, the Bruins took a 2-1 lead when Brad Marchand redirected a centering pass from Patrice Bergeron at 15:56. The goal was Marchand's 6th of the playoffs but only the first of this series. This came shortly after a 12 minute stretch where the Bruins didn't even manage a single shot on net.

The Bruins held Tampa Bay in check for the first half of the third, but almost saw their lead evaporate halfway through the period, but then Thomas made the save of the playoffs when Steve Downie corralled a rebound off the end boards and fired a wrister on net. Thomas was out of position, so he lunged to his right, extended his stick, and swatted the puck out of the air. Downie could not believe it, but these are the types of saves that Thomas regularly makes. His huge stop kept the B's up 2-1 and helped ice the victory after Rich Peverley's empty net goal closed out the game.

Game 6 is tomorrow night in Tampa and the Bruins know what is at stake. The question is will they take advantage of this opportunity. We will find out tomorrow at 8.

OTHER GAME NOTES

*First of all I felt like Nostra fucking damus yesterday. Not only did I blog that there was no way Roloson started the game, I also predicted a big night from Nathan Horton. Scoring the tying goal early in the second period is big. I also calmed down the Kaberle haters and said that I expected 12-13 mins of ice time for the maligned D Man. He had 13:06. This was the low mark in ice time for any defender. I couldn't have been more right if I tried. It's a gift.

*The Seguin craze has seemed to simmer down, at least for the moment. He took a shitty tripping penalty in the first period and was penalized because of it. He finished with just 7:20 of ice time, including his time on the man advantage, +1 rating and 0 shots on net. We all know Claude isn't a fan of Seguin's but the kid is here to do ONE thing. Score. He might have a hard time doing that when he is getting Paille minutes. (This has been your mandatory Claude complaint for the day)

*The Bruins seemed to have avoided a scare in the third when that little pussy Downie boarded Boychuk behind the net. Boychuk's head made contact with the boards and he seemed to struggle walking down the aisle. Early word out of Boston is that he should be available in Game 6 tomorrow. Downie is the worst type of hockey player, one who will take runs at players but will also flop like a Canadien, as we saw the other night. Fuck him.

*Timmy's save will have its own commercial by later on tonight. Sure he may have been out of position, but if that shot goes in, perhaps the B's are on the brink of elimination today instead of being one game away from history.

*Though Horton scored and both Krejci and Lucic had assists, they still only had 4 shots all game (3 from Horton, 1 from Krejci) after tallying 2 shots in Game 4. The whole team struggled in this department but the front line has to be more aggressive. *cough* Lucic *cough*

*One more win is all it takes. Let's finish these tools off so that their fans can go back to watching NASCAR and stop pretending to be hockey fans.

Tim Wakefield: your grandparents' favorite Red Sox player

I'd say the weekend series against the Chicago Cubs was a success for the Boston Red Sox.

Sure, a nightmare of an eighth inning on Saturday night prevented them from getting the sweep but Friday's blowout win (15-5) and last night's tidy 5-1 win at Fenway Park proved that the Red Sox (25-21) are built to win any type of game. On the other side, the Cubs (20-25) are not very good at all as this weekend proved and it's going to be another long season, not that they're drunken fans will really notice.

Tim Wakefield (1-1) helped Boston win its eighth game in its last nine tries, his first victory of 2011. The oldest player in MLB went 6.2 innings, allowing four hits and one earned run with three strikeouts.

With Matt Garza scratched from the start with elbow trouble, the Cubs had to rely on a shaky bullpen, led by some bum named James Russell (1-5). He went four innings, allowing seven hits, three earned runs, one walk with two strikeouts before turning it over to three other scrubs and Kerry Wood.

Adrian Gonzalez continued to be the best hitter in baseball not named Jose Bautista as he went 4 for 4 with a double and two runs scored. Dustin Pedroia added two hits and a run, David Ortiz had two hits and Kevin Youkilis added a two-run triple.

The Red Sox scored twice in the fourth on RBI sacrifice flies by Jed Lowrie and Mike Cameron (who shouldn't have a job in baseball anymore) which scored Gonzalez and Youkilis respectively.

Saltalamacchia crushed his third homer in four games (yes even he has started to hit, a sure sign of the Apocalypse) in the fifth, his third of the season for a 3-0 Boston lead.

Jeff Baker's RBI double in the seventh spoiled Wakefield's unlikely shutout bid, scoring Starlin Castro.

Youkilis hit his two-run triple off Wood in the seventh to the triangle in center. Pedroia and Gonzalez scored on the play.

After getting two games off, Daniel Bard looked refreshed and worked out of the seventh and got a clean eighth, finishing with two strikeouts.

Jonathan Papelbon allowed a hit but struck out two in the ninth during the non-save situation.

What better place for the Red Sox to go than Cleveland? The Indians are the best team in baseball right now and they swept Boston in the first week of April. This three-game set could serve to show how far the Red Sox have come from that disastrous start and April in general. Clay Buchholz opposes former Red Sox Justin Masterson tonight. I'd be shocked if Cleveland sweeps Boston again.

Bruins Look to Retake Momentum in Game 5

After Saturday afternoon's pathetic choke job, Bruins fans have every right to be nervous heading into tonight's massive game 5 (Versus 8pm).

Building a 3 goal lead and chasing Dwayne Roloson out of the game should have been enough to hold off the Lightning and take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series, but nothing ever comes that easy for the Black and Gold.

They were victimized, once again, by their inept power play, defensive breakdowns, and straight up lazy skating. People have already started pointing the finger at Claude Julien for the lack of effort, but doing so only shifts the blame from the players who can't seem to respond to changes in in-game situations.

Here are a few things to look for heading into tonights pivotal game 5

*Whoever you want to blame for a loss like that, the B's have to respond, and they have to respond tonight at home. Game 5 is going to huge and will probably determine the series winner. The earliest reports out of Tampa say that Roloson will get the start and try to shake off the cobwebs. Roloson has looked pedestrian so far against the Bruins, so this is either a vote of confidence from Guy Boucher, or a form of gamesmanship, because I think there is no way in hell that Roloson starts the game.

*While Roley the Goalie has certainly made all 5 Tampa fans cringe in the last few games, Tomas Kaberle has done the same for fans in the Hub. People are even calling for Rookie D man Steve Kampfer to replace Kaberle in the lineup, failing to note that he has some of the same defensive shortcomings as Kaberle. Kaberle is staying in the lineup folks, but don't expect much more than 12-13 minutes of ice time including the Power Play.

*Tim Thomas has been spectacular at times in these playoffs, but is prone to make a few mistakes, as we saw in the 2nd period on Rapture Day. He has never been one to play the puck well, and when he tries, bad things happen. Thomas did a poor job with the puck behind the net, which forced a Boston turnover and led to the first Tampa goal. The indecision has to stop especially with a 3 goal lead. Tampa's aggressive forecheck created pressure and helped get the ball rolling with their first goal.

*Which brings me to my next point, the defense. 48 hours after shutting down Tampa like an elementary school in Providence, The Bruins' blueliners played afraid, turning the puck over repeatedly and not imposing their will physically. After leading 3-0, the entire team basically stood around and waited for things to happen, far from their proactive effort in game 4. Offensively, they were about as bad as you could get in the 2nd and 3rd periods, as they were suffocated by the Tampa forecheck. The Tampa 1-3-1 forecheck got more publicity than the Tampa 2 defense in football, but I have noticed that they are often sending 2 forwards into the Bruins' zone, and it worked like a charm in game 4. Remember when all we needed was a "puck moving defenseman?" Well yea, its time to start moving that puck.

*The Power Play sucks. I mean, how can anyone analyze their struggles at this point. Switch lines? Sorry bro. Put in Seguin? Sorry bro. Dump the puck in the corner and hope it goes in? That doesn't work either. At this point, im really starting to question what the goal of the power play is for this team. Is it to score, or is it to control the puck for two minutes so that the other team doesn't score? Who knows at this point. Will the Bruins fail to score on the power play tonight? Will the sun rise tomorrow?

*The first line needs to step it up. Tonight. 2 shots as a LINE isn't going to cut it whether its Roloson, Smith, or me in net for fucks sake. Hurt or not, Lucic needs to elevate his game tonight and get it going because he doesn't look like the guy who scored 30 goals (5 ENG) this season.

*I think games like tonight are why the Bruins stick with Julien, as he will be able to provide some stability to this lineup by not switching players around. I am predicting a big game for Nathan Horton, as he will continue his clutch ways anthe Bruins will take game 5 with a chance to advance to their first Stanley Cup Final since I was watching Pee Wees playhouse.

Follow me on twitter @ryanburns88

Claude Julien's Boston Bruins: Blowing 3-0 leads for life

I can't explain why but no lead ever seems safe when you're a Boston Bruins fan. A three-goal lead in hockey should be analogous to a three-touchdown lead in football or 20-point lead in basketball.

Still, the B's have found themselves on top 3-0 last postseason in Game 7 in the Flyers (how'd that one end?) and this afternoon against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals and in both cases, they have lost. I can never recall a team in any sport that was so good playing from behind and yet so consistently terrible playing with a lead. It's insane.

What is it about three-goal leads with the Bruins? That doesn't even count the Game 2 win against Tampa Bay where Boston went up 6-3 but barely survived for a 6-5 win.

Today's 5-3 win by the Lightning, notice they scored five unanswered goals, was a considerable nut shot to the Stanley Cup hopes of the Bruins and their long suffering fans.

Perhaps we should have known the sky would soon fall (it was Judgement Day after all) as Boston quieted the St. Pete Times Forum crowd with a trio of goals in the first period. There wasn't a strong one in the bunch as Patrice Bergeron scored an unassisted goal at 11:47 after a terrible Tomas Kaberle style giveaway behind Tampa Bay's goal.

The B's went up 2-0 on an even stranger goal as Michael Ryder skated in on a 2-on-1, waited too long to pass it but was beyond lucky to have the puck deflect off a Lightning defenseman and behind goaltender Dwayne Roloson (6 saves). Chris Kelly and Kaberle assisted on Ryder's fifth of the playoffs.

The dream first period was closed out with an unassisted shorthanded goal by Bergeron at 17:58. His long shot went right through Roloson's five hole (he would be pulled after the first period).

We all should have known that there was way too much time left for the Lightning and their potent offense. They're not the Bruins, they wouldn't go out that quietly. As Boston retreated back into their defensive shell (thanks Claude), Teddy Purcell scored a quick pair of goals (at 6:55 and 7:58) to pull Tampa Bay within 3-2.

Neither was Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas' (32 saves) fault as they came directly from snipe city. Purcell undressed Adam McQuaid on the first one with a toe drag then scored on a low backhander that Thomas couldn't reach. Simon Gagne assisted on that one.

Mattias Ohlund and Vincent Lecavalier assisted on Purcell's fourth of the playoffs which was a high shot over Thomas's blocker side.

Most coaches would probably call a timeout at that point since the team was in full meltdown mode but not Julien. Nope, best to play it out at that point and see what you're rattled team can do.

To nobody's surprise, Bergenheim tied it up at 10:53 (his 10th of the playoffs) off a rebound from Domenic Moore. Safe to say the Lightning didn't look back from there. A timeout there would have made sense too but no dice. Clearly, Claude doesn't need timeouts. I mean, who could argue with his results?

At this point, if I was a smarter man I would have gone outside and enjoyed the beautiful day (the first in weeks) but no I'm a dumb ass Bruins fan. I knew that they weren't coming out of this one with a win but I sat there like a goon and watch them piss down their leg as always.

The best I can say is that at least they didn't prolong the agony and send it to overtime. Simon Gagne had the game-winner as he scored his fourth of the playoffs at 6:54 from Ryan Malone. Still plenty of time left in the frame but who thought the B's had a prayer at that point? They continued to skate their lane while the conveyor belt of four lines rolled out and not really do much of anything (which could be said of the final two periods) and Martin St. Louis closed it out with an empty net goal at 19:23 (his eighth of the playoffs) from Gagne and Victor Hedman.

Mike Smith (21 saves) played the final two periods and didn't allow a goal but I honestly can't think of one above average save that he had to make. Boston didn't test him at all (and why would you with a goaltender that just got thrown in there?) but regardless, he should get the start in Game 5.

We have Sunday to cry about this latest choke job but then it's back to business on Monday as the teams return to Boston for Game 5 at TD Garden. Who knows what to expect from the Bruins? They could have a short memory and play well or they could have an emotional hangover (helped by their rightly paranoid crowd) and they'll lose again, which will probably signal their demise. So yeah Game 5 is important but good luck guessing what is going to happen.

Tim Thomas restores some order in the Eastern Conference finals

After scoring five goals in both Game 1 and Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals, the Tampa Bay Lightning's potent offense was due for a letdown. Likewise, the defensively strong Boston Bruins couldn't possibly play any worse in their own end.

Some order was restored to the hockey universe last night in Game 3 at the St. Pete Times Forum as Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas (31 saves) shut out the Lightning 2-0, helping Boston grab the all-important 2-1 lead (and wrestle back the home-ice advantage they lost in Game 1).

If you watched the B's all season, the team that skated last night was a much closer resemblance than the frauds that showed up in Game 1 and 2. Yes they won Game 2, but they're not going to win many games playing run and gun hockey with a team as talented offensively as the Lightning.

David Krejci popped a goal 1:09 into regulation and from there, Boston improved to 7-0 in the playoffs when they score first. Milan Lucic and Johnny Boychuk had the assists on Krejci's team-high seventh of the postseason. A defensive breakdown by Tampa Bay allowed Krejci to camp in front of goaltender Dwayne Roloson (23 saves) and wait him out (he took a Thomas-esque dive) before shoveling a backhander in.

After a scoreless and truthfully dull second period (which plays exactly into Claude Julien and the Bruins' paws), Andrew Ference scored his second of the playoffs at 8:12 of the third period. Michael Ryder and Chris Kelly had the assists to a goal which was originally given to Tyler Seguin (who didn't come even close to tipping it). There was tons of traffic in front of Roloson and he stopped it but the puck had just enough steam on it to trickle over the goal line in slow motion.

Thomas had to make a couple great saves but other than that, Tampa Bay was pretty quiet even when they were down two goals.

Game 4 is tomorrow afternoon at 1:30 p.m. and I don't have to be a genius like Lightning head coach Guy Boucher to tell you that it's the biggest game of the series. If the B's win, they'll be one game away from the Stanley Cup finals (!). If they lose, Tampa Bay is right back into it and they will have forgotten their struggles in Game 2 and 3.

Sorry Justin Verlander, even you cannot stop the Boston Red Sox right now

Another game, another win for the Boston Red Sox. Carl Crawford continues to toil at the bottom of the lineup but he still delivered his third walkoff hit in May as Boston beat Detroit 4-3 last night at Fenway Park.

The Red Sox (23-20) have won a season-high six in a row thanks to contributions from everybody: great starting pitching, timely hitting, excellent relief and plain old luck.

The Tigers (22-21) came into Boston hot but left after a two-game sweep with interleague play starting for everybody this weekend.

A pitcher's duel between Detroit ace Justin Verlander and Red Sox stud Josh Beckett was overshadowed by Crawford's heroics. With the bases loaded and one out in the ninth, Crawford (2 hits) crushed a single over the head of Tigers center fielder Austin Jackson which plated pinch runner Darnell McDonald. Detroit porn star and reliever Al Alburquerque (0-1) was charged with the loss.

Neither starter got a decision as Verlander went eight innings, allowing six hits, three earned runs with nine strikeouts. Beckett departed after six innings (with a stiff neck, man baseball players are warriors), five hits, one earned run, two walks and three strikeouts.

Andy Dirks (what is with these names?) gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the second.

J.D. Drew tied it up in the bottom of the second with a sacrifice fly which scored Kevin Youkilis.

Things looked to be turning in Boston's favor as Drew hit a solo homer in the fourth and David Ortiz (3 hits, quietly having a very solid season) followed with a solo shot of his own in the seventh.

Matt Albers got a scoreless seventh (1 hit, 2 strikeouts) but Detroit hit a pair of solo homers off Daniel Bard in the eighth. Brennan Boesch and Miguel Cabrera did the honors.

No worries though, the Red Sox are finding every possible way to win right now and this time, it didn't even take extra innings. Just another ho hum walkoff.

The Chicago Cubs come to Fenway for a three-game series which kicks off tonight. It's the first time since the 1918 World Series (remember that classic?) that the Cubbies have been to Boston. I can feel the collective boners from all the baseball nerds across the world. It promises to be a memorable weekend in Boston.

Red Sox are finally getting used to this winning thing

Rain, mist or fog can't stop the Boston Red Sox right now as they won their fifth straight game last night, 1-0 against the Detroit Tigers at Fenway Park.

Clay Buchholz got a no-decision but he had his fourth straight superb start for Boston (22-20). He went seven scoreless innings with a season-high 127 pitches. He allowed four hits, walked one and struck out seven.

Phil Coke was the unlikely Detroit (22-20) pitcher that matched Buchholz pitch for pitch. He also went seven scoreless innings, gave up three hits, one walk and struck out four.

It was a weird night with terrible weather, including a 26-minute rain dealy in the eighth inning, so it makes perfect sense that Red Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia came up with the biggest hit of the game.

After Carl Crawford walked in the eighth, Saltalamacchia delivered with an RBI double which plated the winning run.

Daniel Bard (1-3) picked up his first win of 2011 with a 1-2-3 eighth, including a strikeout.

Jonathan Papelbon gave up a leadoff double to former Red Sox Victor Martinez to start the ninth but settled down to get the last three outs (including two strikeouts) for his eighth save of the season.

Justin Verlander and Josh Beckett is the exquisite pitching matchup tonight in the series finale. It's too bad Bruins-Lightning Game 3 is tonight as well (starting at 8 p.m.) since this could be one of the best games of the year.

Tampa Bay Radio Host Gets Sensitive Over Anti-Lightning Signs

From NESN.com's Mike Hurley

Mike "Cowhead" Calta became known in Boston on Wednesday as the guy who led the protest to remove signs outside the TD Garden. The signs were playful attempts at humor, taking lighthearted shots at Lightning fans. But Calta rallied his listeners to call the Bruins' marketing people until they took down the signs. The Bruins eventually complied, prompting Cowhead to brag to the St. Petersburg Times that he and his listeners moved in "like Seal Team 6" ... as in the Navy SEAL unit that just killed Osama bin Laden.

As tasteless as the comment was, it was just the beginning. Cowhead, originally famous for his work with Todd "Bubba the Love Sponge" Clem, decided to engage with every person who sent criticism his way on Twitter. He called a woman from the Bruins' marketing department a "woman/dude" and a "wookie." He responded to an insult by saying "Holy [expletive] you people are retards." He told one person whose picture included a female that "you are an adorable gay couple!" He called a Bruins fan with a red beard a "ginger." "The best part about twitter is that I don't have to actually hear your retarded boston [expletive] accents!" he wrote.

Wow. So far in this Bruins postseason run, there has been no shortage of radio drama between the Boston market and radio hosts like Montreal's Tony Marinaro and journalist Pat Hickey. The exchange between the Montreal media and guys like Felger and Andy Gresh has been insightful, revealing, and most of all, fun for the audience.

All that was taken o the next level thanks to this jackass "Cowhead". I mean, urging your listeners to call a professional sports teams marketing department to take down signs because your feelings are hurt? What a pathetic fraud. For a guy who rips people on twitter like this to be so upset over playfully designed marketing initiatives speaks to the quality of both Tampa Bay's sports media as well as their fans. I know people compare Tampa to Montreal but this might be actually more pathetic than calling 911 for a hockey play.

I think this is all a stunt by Cowhead to drum up interest in a sports town that can barely support their baseball team, has an has an NFL team that is less than competitive, and cling to their 2004 cup like the holy grail. This town also referred to itself as TitleTown a few years ago. What?

Cowhead is clearly just a loud blowhard attempting to create some sort of rivalry, which makes sense. However he is obviously a cartoon character who will go right back to having twitter battles once Tampa is eliminated, because just like the rest of that town, no one gives a shit about sports. You want to get taken seriously, stop being such sensitive pussies and then talking tough on Twitter.

Tyler Seguin will give you pants tents for days

With last night's roller coaster 6-5 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning at TD Garden, the Boston Bruins tied the Eastern Conference finals 1-1 with the series shifting to Florida tomorrow night for Game 3.

If his career pans out, the foremost memory from the win will be rookie Tyler Seguin's absurd four-point night. After sitting out the first two playoff series', he had a goal and assist in Game 1 on Saturday. He doubled that output and better yet, did it all in one period (the second, tying a team record) as Boston turned a 2-1 deficit into a 6-3 lead and then held on for dear life.

It's hard to believe that Boston goaltender Tim Thomas (36 saves) had a good game when he gave up five goals, including a couple soft ones but trust me when I tell you that he made a couple unbelievable stops in the third to secure this vital win.

Lightning goaltender and Stephen King doppleganger Dwayne Roloson (21 saves) came back to Earth like you knew a 41-year-old journeyman eventually would. Like Thomas, he actually made a bunch of solid stops (in the first period) but was done in by a leaky defense in front of him and pulled after the second period.

In a crazy contest, it's only fitting that Boston's beyond dead power play arose from the dead, scored two goals and created numerous other chances. Yeah, it was that kind of night.

Once again, Tampa Bay took an early lead, this time 13 seconds into regulation as Adam Hall (first of the playoffs) took advantage of a shot off the back boards that bounced right to him as he used his backhanded to put in a tough angle shot. Vincent Lecavalier and former Bruin Nate Thompson assisted on that gift.

Nathan Horton (sixth of the playoffs) got the Bruins on the board with their first power-play strike, at 13:58. He tipped in Dennis Seidenberg's shot from the point with Tomas Kaberle picking up the second assist.

The B's absolutely dominated play in the first period (18-11 shot advantage) yet it was a bitter feeling as the Lightning scored another fluky goal with seven seconds left in the frame. Steven Stamkos threw the puck at the net and Martin St. Louis was in front to bat it in past Thomas for his seventh of the playoffs. Lecavalier also assisted on that one.

Yes, the B's almost committed a nightmare of a collapse in the third period as they seemingly couldn't gain control of the puck or do simple things like score into an empty net but hey, they won. With Patrice Bergeron likely to make his return in Game 3, there's much to be excited about.

Given the stakes and setting, I honestly can't think of a better period than the one submitted in the second by Boston (5-1 in a must-win game in the Eastern Conference finals). Therefore, I stand by my delirious Tweet from last night that said "best Bruins period of my life." For 20 minutes, Claude Julien's boring defensive system was thrown into the trash as Seguin and the Bruins' other most talented forwards flew around the rink.

Seguin tied it up 48 seconds into the second after Michael Ryder sprung him for a breakaway. The 19-year-old knows what do in that position and he beat Roloson with a sweet backhander.

At 2:24 Seidenberg found David Krejci with a nice cross-ice feed and Krejci one-timed it for his sixth goal of the playoffs. Horton also assisted on his linemate's tally.

At 6:30 Seguin roofed a forehand shot over Roloson, assisted by Horton and Adam McQuaid. It's not understatement to say the TD Garden went bananas at that point, breaking out the Tyler.....Seguin chant.

Lecavalier (sixth of the playoffs) struck on a Tampa Bay power play to pull the Lightning within 4-3 at 7:48. St. Louis and Stamkos had the assists.

The ghost of Michael Ryder stopped by for a visit late in the second period and it was a pleasant stay as he potted two goals of his own (his third and fourth of the playoffs). He scored on the power play at 16:16 from Seguin (of course) and Kaberle. With 19 seconds left in the second, Ryder jumped on a rebound and scored after Roloson had stopped shots from Chris Kelly and Seguin.

I don't know how to explain it but Boston is just the worst hockey team ever playing with a lead, especially when it's more than one goal. Furthering my point, they were completely lifeless in the third period as Stamkos sniped one over Thomas' shoulder at 3:47 (his fifth of the playoffs) from Victor Hedman and Hall.

The clock seemed to be stuck in slow motion or maybe it was just the Bruins who seemed to be killing an invisible penalty all period. When former Harvard star Dominic Moore put in a rebound (on a play that should have been whistled dead since Thomas' mask came off) at 13:15, it looked like Tampa Bay was going to win this game.

Thankfully for hearts across New England, that didn't happen as the B's managed to hang on despite things like Milan Lucic shooting over an empty net (something you don't see every day).

Last night only proved that this series is probably going to the distance (seven games) either way. Tampa Bay has too much firepower to go down quietly but Boston has better goaltending (usually) and defense (sometimes) with more overall depth. Seguin really is the X factor; if he can continue to produce and Bergeron returns, I like the B's chances to get to their first Stanley Cup final since 1990.

Seguin = Man Crush.

In a season filled with ups and downs, last night's victory could have been the spark that Bruins Rookie Tyler Seguin needed.

In just his second career playoff game, the second overall pick in last summer's draft stole the show, scoring twice and notching two assists on the way to a 6-5 victory.

B's fans (like this guy) have been clamoring for this type of performance all season, and perhaps we can all point to last night as THE night. The Tyler Seguin game. Up until last night, no teenager had scored 4 points in a playoff game since Vancouver's Trevor Linden in 1989. The scoring outburst had the raucous crowd chanting Seguin's name from the rink to the rafters.

While the game had a blowout feel to it, (especially in the 2nd period) the Bruins almost blew another game thanks to porous defense.

The Bruins started the game right where they left off in game 1, allowing a soft goal just 13 seconds into the 1st. Adam Hall scored his first goal of the playoffs (Lecavalier, Thompson) to calm down the Garden faithful. Rene Rancourt had barely finished his last fist pump and it was already 1-0.

The much maligned power play unit had a great chance in the first, including a 5 on 3 opportunity, and cashed in at 13:58 as Nathan Horton redirected a Dennis Seidenberg blast to tie the game. Martin St. Louis scored in the last minute of the first to send the Bolts into the locker room up one.

Then Seguin took over. Taking an outlet pass from Michael Ryder, Seguin split the defense and placed a backhander top shelf, knotting the game at 2.

Vincent Lecavalier praised Seguin's effort, saying after the game, "I think it was his first goal, he went up the ice, just flying, and that was a nice goal, he was skating hard. He is a great skater. He is a smart player. The first two games for him have been great. We definitely have to keep an eye on him and make sure the structure we play is better and not give those chances."

Seguin will certainly get more attention, especially after his second goal, which put the Bruins up 4-2, and prompted the aforementioned Tyler Seguin chant. While the crowd was delirious, Lecavalier brought them back to earth one minute later on a PPG. Michael Ryder, relatively quiet since the glove save against Montreal, scored twice towards the end of the second.

The 6-3 lead chased Dwayne Roloson from the game, as Guy Boucher sent in Mike Smith for the 3rd Period. This was the third consecutive series the Bruins have forced their opposition to go to their back up netminder.

The change gave the Lightning a jump start in the third, scaring the Bruins fans with two goals and a furious effort to tie the game, including a beautiful stop by Tim Thomas on a Nate Thompson breakaway attempt.

The Bruins were able to withstand a man advantage when Tampa pulled Smith late in the third to preserve their 6-5 victory and sending the series back to Tampa Bay.

Seguin, the first star of the night, expressed relief after the game, saying "I felt more confident, more poised, and in big games I always want to step up. Tonight I had some lucky bounces, but I was trying to take advantage of all opportunities, and they were going in tonight."

Seguin's historic performance will be remembered for a while, and if the Bruins are to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals, it will be largely thanks to Seguin's night.

Game Notes:

*While the powerplay unit was heartily booed at times, they actually looked much better in game 2. While the official score sheet has them down for 2 PPG's they truly only got one legitimate goal, the other PPG came with one devon left on the man advantage. The Bruins did a much better job moving the puck and created several good scoring chances. I would like to see them do a better job cycling the puck down low and creating opportunities in the slot rather than relying on slapshots from the point.

*Tomas Kaberle has been a lightning rod, no pun intended, since arriving in Boston. But last night I thought he was quite effective with the puck, carrying it through the neutral zone at times and looking for the open man. Kaberle had 2 assists in 15:25 of ice time. The increase in playing time is thanks to the B's many power play opportunities. While he still has work to do, I thought last night was a step in the right direction.

*The Garden crowd was ready for this game. This was easily the loudest and biggest crowd I have seen at the garden in my life. I was sitting up im the balcony and from up there you can literally feel the hunger for a title permeating throughout the night. Although the Bruins dropped 2 games at home vs Montreal and game one vs Tampa Bay the Garden can be a tough place to play if the crowd is into it.

*While the second period seemed like a big party, the Bruins underwhelming defense made it interesting in the third. In order to advance past Tampa Bay, the Bruins are going to have todo a better job shutting down the Tampa attack. 41 shots on goal isn't going to cut it. Tampa is just too skilled to allow that many shots on net. Thomas made some key saves but the defense in front of him must improve.

*Tampa Bay has zero fans. Last night was the first Bruins game I have ever been to where I didn't see a jersey of the opposing team. Like the sign in the mens room in the balcony said "Bigfoot. Loch Ness Monster. Tampa Bay fans."

*I was at the Greatest Bar before the game and WAAF was there doing some sort of promotion with an Xbox. The only problem was that they rolled out NHL 2k7! Just bush league all over the place. Wanna know the Bruins starting lineup? Sure you do. It was Savard, Bergeron, Brad Stuart, Chara, and Paul Mara. Needless to say not many people played. I thought about lighting up some people but decided to continue drinking instead.

*Speaking of drinking, I'm pretty sure the TD Garden has THE most absurd drinking rules in the United States. I am a RI licensed driver and I can't buy a beer there until I turn 25. I also found out that if you have a passport, you can purcase booze once you turn 21. As insane as that is, I also watched as a 21 year old from Manitoba use his Canadien license to buy a beer. So let me get this straight. If I was at a Bruins - Canadiens game in Boston, a 21 year old Canadiens fan could buy a beer and a US citizen from an hour away can't. Fucking Massachusetts. Just bowing to foreigners like I've never seen before.

Adrian Gonzalez's first walk-off hit as a member of the Boston Red Sox

If the Boston Red Sox go anywhere this season, I can guarantee that highlights of last night's improbable victory over the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park will be featured prominently.

Adrian Gonzalez hit a two-run double off the Monster in the bottom of the ninth off Orioles closer Kevin Gregg giving Boston (21-20) its fourth straight win, 8-7 over Baltimore (19-21).

The Daisuke Matsuzaka experience was in full effect during a miserable, rainy night. He went 4.1 innings, allowing five hits, five earned runs, seven walks and two strikeouts. I don't know who they could put in his rotation spot but hopefully the Red Sox brass can come up with another fake injury and they can give him a seat next to John Lackey on the disabled list.

The Orioles built up a 6-0 lead with two runs in the first, one in the third, two in the fifth and one in the sixth.

Derrek Lee had an RBI double in the first and Vlad Guerrero (3 hits, 2 runs) drove in a run with a ground out. Matt Wieters had an RBI single in the third, Mark Reynolds had an RBI single in the fifth and J.J. Hardy drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. Finally, Adam Jones had an RBI single in the sixth.

After Orioles starter Chris Tillman pitched five scoreless innings, Jed Lowrie (2 hits, 2 runs) got the comeback underway with an RBI double in the sixth. Jason Varitek and Gonzalez added RBI singles in the frame and Kevin Youkilis roped an two-run RBI double to pull the Red Sox within a run at 6-5.

Reynolds hit a solo homer to center off Boston reliever Alfredo Aceves (1-0) in the seventh to give the Orioles a 7-5 lead. It turned out to be the only mistake for Aceves as he went three innings for the win. He allowed two hits and struck out one for his first win with the Red Sox.

Varitek cut it to 7-6 in the seventh with another RBI single.

Jacoby Ellsbury (2 hits) walked and stole second with one out in the ninth against Gregg. Pedroia worked a nine-pitch walk, setting the table for Gonzalez's sweet stroke off the Wall.

Tim Wakefield gets the ball tonight in place of Lackey. The O's counter with young lefty Zach Britton (5-2). Boston looks to sweep the two-game set and continue this stretch of good baseball.

Drew Bledsoe holds the ball for too long, gets sacked and enters the Patriots Hall of Fame

It's hard to think of a professional athlete in New England that has seen their legacy get tarnished more in the last decade than former Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe.

It's ironic because from all accounts, the former No. 1 overall pick is a great guy and he left Foxborough on good terms. What hurt him so much rather than off the field drama was the fact that one of the alltime great quarterbacks in NFL history (Tom Brady) directly followed him and led the Patriots to three Super Bowl wins in four years and four Super Bowls overall (so far).

Still, Bledsoe deserves his share of credit from turning that hopeless franchise from a joke when he joined them in 1993 to a legitimate playoff team year after year when he left (after 2001). It was nice to see the fans respond as they voted Bledsoe into the Patriots Hall of Fame.

The announcement was made yesterday as Bledsoe was the 17th player and 18th member of the team to make the Hall of Fame. Since the new voting process was instituted in 2007, Bledsoe earned the highest percentage of votes (beating former head coach Bill Parcells and defensive lineman Houston Antwine) from fans and also became the first player to get voted in during his first year of eligibility.

Bledsoe will join Jon Morris, who was selected to the hall of fame by the senior selection committee, as the 2011 honorees. Bledsoe and Morris will be inducted in a public ceremony outside The Hall at Patriot Place on Saturday, Sept. 17.

During his nine-year Patriots career, he broke the Patriots' career passing records for attempts (4,518), completions (2,544) and yards (29,657). Bledsoe still holds the Patriots' single-season passing records for attempts (691) and completions (400) and is the only player in franchise history to pass for over 400 yards multiple times (4). He still holds the NFL record for attempts in a season (691 in 1994) and both attempts (70) and completions (45) in a game against Minnesota in 1994 that sparked a seven-game win streak, propelling the Patriots to their first playoff berth in eight years. Bledsoe led the Patriots to the playoffs four times in his first six seasons, helping the team earn back-to-back division titles and three consecutive playoff berths for the first time in franchise history. In 1996, he guided the Patriots to their second AFC Championship in franchise history and a trip to Super Bowl XXXI. Bledsoe is the only quarterback in NFL history with four seasons of at least 600 pass attempts, including three straight from 1994-96 with the Patriots.

They did it! Red Sox reach .500 mark!

After 40 games in the 2011 season, the Boston Red Sox finally reached the .500 mark with a 7-5 win last night at Yankee Stadium.

It couldn't have come in much better fashion as it enabled the Red Sox (20-20) to not only sweep the three-game series against the Yankees (20-18) but send New York into a tailspin as they've lost their last five games in a row and nine of their last 12.

Jon Lester (5-1) battled through a subpar outing and still managed to give Boston some innings. Are you paying attention John Lackey? Lester went six innings, allowing five hits, four earned runs, four walks with seven strikeouts.

Freddy Garcia (2-3) couldn't match Lester even on a very off-night for one of MLB's best. In 5.1 innings, he allowed six hits, five runs (four earned), two walks and four strikeouts.

The Yankees got out to a 4-1 lead but it wasn't enough to stem the tide of a lost weekend in the Bronx for the Bombers.

Mark Teixeira (2 hits) had an RBI single in the first which drove in Derek Jeter for a 1-0 Yankees lead.

Jed Lowrie tied it in the second with a sacrifice fly which scored Kevin Youkilis.

Andruw Jones hit a solo homer in the second and Curtis Granderson blasted a three-run bomb off Lester in the same frame.

Yankee Stadium continued to be a glorified Little League park (and to think people make fun of Fenway) as Youk tied it in the third with a three-run bomb of his own.

David Ortiz (3 hits) put Boston ahead with a solo shot in the fifth.

Alex Rodriguez made a fielding error on about the easiest play imaginable in the seventh, allowing Youk to score and put the Red Sox up 6-4.

A-Rod atoned for his mistake with an RBI double in the seventh off former Yanks reliever Alfredo Aceves but Jarrod Saltalamacchia (2 hits) gave Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon some breathing room with a solo homer in the eighth off the ghost of Joba Chamberlain.

Bard survived two walks to get four outs in the seventh and eighth while Papelbon recorded a 1-2-3 ninth (with a strikeout) for his seventh save of the season.

The Red Sox return home for a seven-game homestand (Orioles, Tigers and Cubs!) in rainy Boston. With only 3.5 games seperating first-place Tampa Bay and last-place Baltimore, it's time to forget about Boston's terrible start. It's a thing of the past and they still have 122 (haha) regular season games left.

They begin with two against Baltimore starting tonight with Daisuke Matsuzaka taking on Chris Tillman. With rain forecasted and the usual Dice-K roller coaster, I would say give your tickets away if you have them and drink heavily or use drugs if you plan on watching this one on TV.

Bruins take the time machine back to Games 1-2 vs. Montreal

After not having a game for eight days, we were all dying for a taste of the Boston Bruins in the playoffs, especially since the Celtics are now done and the B's had advanced farther than they had in the past 18 years.

In true Bruins form, they completely let everybody down by getting smoked 5-2 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals last night at TD Garden.

After sweeping the Philadelphia Flyers and winning four of its last five against the Montreal Canadiens earlier in the playoffs, the B's took a trip back to the nightmarish Games 1-2 against the Habs. In those games, Boston routinely gave goals to Montreal with awful turnovers and bad rebounds from Tim Thomas.

Tampa Bay put Game 1 away with a flurry of three goals in a span of 1:25 of the first period. At 11:15, Sean Bergenheim (8th of the playoffs) made it 1-0 as Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg kicked it right to him in front of the net. Totally not Thomas' fault. Dominic Moore and Victor Hedman assisted on that one.

19 seconds later, Brett Clark went from one end of the rink to the other and threw a weak sauce backhander on Thomas (29 saves). It trickled through Thomas for Clark's first goal of the postseason. Completely unforgivable.

Bruins head coach Claude Julien should have called a timeout right then but he waited and things somehow got even worse as Tomas Kaberle coughed up the puck right behind the net and Teddy Purcell stuffed it by Thomas for his second of the playoffs and a shocking 3-0 Lightning lead just 12:40 into the first period.

At 15:59 of the first period, Tyler Seguin cut it to 3-1 with a moment of brilliance, his first career playoff goal in his first playoff game. He was assisted by Michael Ryder and Rich Peverley but Seguin did all the hard work as he dangled past a Tampa Bay defenseman.

Boston put some shots on Lightning goaltender Dwayne Roloson (31 saves) but they didn't get enough traffic in front or simply shot wide of the net. Plus, Tampa Bay blocked roughly 50 shots.

Marc-Andre Bergeron clinched it for the Lightning with a power-play goal at 13:37 of the third period. His second of the playoffs, it was assisted by Brett Clark and Martin St. Louis.

Simon Gagne added an empty-netter (his third of the season, from Purcell) before Johnny Boychuk (third of the playoffs) got a garbage time goal for the Bruins, from Seguin.

Game 2 is Tuesday night back at TD Garden. I don't think the Bruins could play much worse. Tampa Bay's top offensive players (Steven Stamkos, St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier) were quiet in Game 1 so that'll soon change. Thomas will be better and Boston cannot possibly give Tampa Bay easier goals. It is a must-win since Tampa Bay is better than Montreal and Philadelphia and the B's don't want to be down 2-0 against such a good team with the series headed to their home rink.

Josh Beckett owns the Yankees (at least so far this season)

It's funny how in a couple days, the New York Yankees have become a complete mess with a legendary player (Jorge Posada) removing himself from the lineup while the Boston Red Sox look like a team that has underachieved so far this season but is built for big things in 2011.

The Red Sox (19-20) shut out the Yankees (20-17) 5-0 last night at Yankee Stadium with Josh Beckett (3-1) outdueling CC Sabathia (3-3) for the second time in a month.

It was the second straight win for Boston in the Bronx and they'll go for the sweep tonight on Sunday Night baseball.

Beckett went six scoreless innings, allowing four hits, two walks with nine strikeouts.

Sabathia matched Beckett for the first four innings before giving up two runs in the fifth and four in the seventh. The big lefty went 6.2 innings, allowing seven hits, six earned runs, three walks with six strikeouts.

Jacoby Ellsbury (2 hits, 2 RBIs) got the Red Sox on the board with a two-run double in the fifth.

Boston benefited from a missed strike call on Jason Varitek in the seventh. On the next pitch, he laced an RBI single which scored Mike Cameron. Later in the frame, Adrian Gonzalez hit a three-run homer (his ninth of the season and fourth in his last four games).

Dustin Pedroia added three hits, a run and a stolen base in the win.

Curtis Granderson was the only Yankee with multiple hits. He had two hits and a stolen base.

The two most pleasant surprises in the Boston bullpen continued to get it done. Matt Albers pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth with two strikeouts while Rich Hill threw a scoreless ninth with two strikeouts of his own.

Tonight is the fifth time that the Red Sox have a chance to get to the .500 mark. Jon Lester will take on Freddy Garcia as Boston goes for the three-game sweep.