State of Soccer In America

With the World Cup closing up this past Sunday, it is now a time to look at the State of Soccer, in terms of American soccer.  The World Cup to me has always been a weird phenomenon here in the States because it seems Americans back the US team just as much, if not more, than teams they have rooted for their whole lives, but after the team the US gets knocked out it seems the soccer is put on the back burner for another four years.  This brings up the inevitable question; will the 2014 World Cup finally mean a brighter future for the sport of soccer in America?

I'll admit I was a once every four years soccer fan until 2010.  Main reason for this is there was limited access to the sport.  Yes, America has a professional league in the MLS, but as sports fan it's tough to get behind a product where there are very few household name players.  While the MLS has definitely improved, over the last handful of years in particular it has brought over more high profile names, albeit players on the last leg of their careers, to the league, the league still seems to have the perception of being an inferior league to those in Europe. While the MLS may not excite people just yet, this includes myself, one of the benefits we now have living in America is being able to watch numerous games in Europe each week.  ESPN, FOX Soccer and NBCSN have all invested greatly since 2010 to make sure Americans have access to the best soccer games being played throughout the world each week.  NBCSN in particular through their on air network and online network airs every English Premier League game each week.  As an Everton fan this is great because while they have improved (finishing 5th this past season in the EPL) they still don't have the brand name recognition like Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal have.  Even though Everton may not be a ratings draw to show on TV, as a fan I now have access to every game they play.

Through having this access over the last four years I personally came into this World Cup way more knowledgeable than I have ever been prior to a World Cup.  I knew where majority of the players played professionally and because of that had a better idea of what teams in the World Cup were good and what teams weren't.  Americans can no longer use the excuse that they have no idea who any players are in the World Cup.  I was actually listening to a podcast this past week hosted by Clay Travis of Fox Sports and he mentioned that Americans can watch more soccer games each weekend than someone living in England.  While watching games require some effort, since some start as early as 7:45 on a Saturday or Sunday morning, I have learned over the past couple of years, especially in the fall, that it is a great appetizer before "College Gameday" or all the NFL pre-game shows begin.

As for the game itself, I think this is where we as an American society have the toughest part embracing soccer.  As a whole America enjoys fast paced and action packed sports.  This is why football and basketball tend to dominate sports ratings.  Soccer as we know is a slower sport and you could go 90 minutes without one goal being scored and it leaves many people feeling like they just wasted two hours of their lives. I hope though that people through the World Cup were able to understand that there can be very entertaining 0-0 games, like Brazil and Mexico in the group stage. I will admit however there can be very boring 0-0 games as well, like the one between Argentina and the Netherlands in the semi-finals. I have always said as a sports fan, and in particular a Boston sports fan, one of the best games I have watched was when the Bruins beat the Lightening 1-0 in game 7 of the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals.  I hope games like that can remind sports fans that a game doesn't need a plethora of goals to be entertaining.  A lot of baseball fans will argue for instance that a 1-0 pitchers dual is far superior to a 11-10 slugfest.

It will take time to see if soccer truly catches on here in America.  I still think judging MLS attendances and ratings is not a valid way to see how popular the sport has become, but I think seeing how ratings are on NBCSN during their English Premier League coverage this upcoming season along with UEFA Champions League coverage on Fox Soccer and FOX Sports are better barometers because it is there where the best teams are showcased, and people can watch many of the names they grew to know during the last month of watching the World Cup.  As a US citizen and fan I really hope that the sport catches on, because the more popular the sport becomes, the more people will want to play it, and if more kids start playing it here, than the better the future will be for US soccer.  If the US soccer team really wants to make the next step, from being glad to getting out of group stage, to expecting to getting out of the group stage and winning in the knockout round, I think we need to get more players playing in Europe against the best competition in the world.  This will also help grow the game here in the States because if fans come to know who players are, then they will be more inclined to watch European soccer games which is a far superior product than that of the MLS.

I do believe the sport of soccer took a big step through the World Cup to being embraced by Americans, but we as Americans now have to take the effort to continue to learn about the sport and the players who play it.  I know soccer isn’t for everyone, it took me 25 years for instance to truly embrace it, but I do hope Americans will take the time this fall to watch a Premier League game or a Champions League game because it is during these games where they will see why the sport is beloved nearly everywhere else in the world.

FIFA Needs To Bring Back The Golden Goal To The World Cup

I'm going to make this Rant pretty quick, but after viewing this past weekend's round of 16 games I think FIFA needs to re-think how they decide games in the knockout stage and bring back the Golden Goal which FIFA started using in 1993 but later abolished in 2004 (this includes other FIFA related tournaments, not just the World Cup).  While shootouts can be exciting, I don't think they should be the way a team's fate is decided in a tournament with the magnitude the size of the World Cup.

The NHL in my mind has the perfect overtime system.  Some argue that the regular season overtime could use some tweaking,  but I think one thing we can all agree on is how awesome the NHL playoff overtimes are.  The intensity of play is off the charts, and the best part is the players decide the outcome, whereas a shootout is more a game of chance than anything else.  I think it's perfectly fine to determine a regular season game with a shootout just because the season is so long, but come playoff time the game should be determined by having the first team to score win, since the playoffs are meant to test a team's will and heart.  The only adjustment I'd personally make to the NHL regular season format is if a team scores in the 5 minute overtime that the winning team should get two points and the losing team zero, and only in the shootout should the losing team be awarded one point.  This way it gives a greater incentive for a team to score a goal, and not just roll the dice and take their chances in a shootout.

Similarly,  I think FIFA should adopt the NHL playoff format for their knockout stage.  Having watched the overtimes this past weekend, one could see that there wasn't much action in the overtime, and it seemed most teams were willing to just play for a shootout.  If the Golden Goal was instituted I believe the play would be a lot more aggressive and would be more entertaining to watch for the fans.  If it was up to me there would be a coin toss to determine what side a team would want to defend, then there would be unlimited 45 minute halves until a goal is scored.  If a goal is scored the game would end right then and there, and if no goal was scored after the first 45 minutes then there would be a standard break and the teams would come out again and repeat the same process until a goal is scored.  While I know fatigue is a factor in why FIFA's limits how long an overtime can last, I would add one addition ruling for overtime in that each team would get one substitution each overtime period. By allowing a substitution each overtime period, even if a team has used all three of their substitutions already, it would allow the team's to stay little more fresh.

I know my ideal overtime is a long shot of ever happening, but I really hate seeing a team who has spent four years qualifying have their fate decided by a shootout.

World Cup Tie-Break Rules, Good? or Bad?

First off, I want to say sorry for the month long break between Rants.  As a Boston sports fan the last month has been tough in terms of content to write about.  With the Bruins being knocked out early in the playoffs and the Red Sox seeming to be in a constant slump of winning 2 games in row then losing 4 in a row, it's been a rough beginning to the summer to say the least.  The World Cup however has shot some adrenaline into my sports fanaticism and given some excitement to what seemed to be a really slow summer sports wise.  This Rant isn't necessarily geared towards talking about the US team and their heartbreaking tie this past Sunday to Portugal or their chances against Germany and advancing to the next round, but rather I am here to Rant about the World Cup tie-breaking rules.

In America it seems that when two teams are tied at the end of season with a chance to go to the playoffs, usually the two teams' head to head records are the first tie breaker in order to determine who gets the chance to advance.  In the World Cup however head to head match-up is the third tie-breaker behind goal differential and the amount of goals scored.  While that seems weird, and at first head scratching, as I began analyze it I think in this case it is actually a good idea, even if it could potentially back fire on the US come Thursday.

To give a better picture of why this is good, let's look at two American sports College Football and Major League Baseball.  As American sports fans, I think something we can all agree on, unless for some reason your team is tanking for a better draft pick, is that we hope our team is in contention come the end of the season.  Nothing is worse knowing your team is completely out of the playoff picture with half the season to go.  Until this upcoming season when the four team playoff will be implemented, one of the knocks on college football was if your team had more than one loss then they were basically completely out of contention of playing for the National Title.  With the playoff however and strength of schedule being weighted, more teams will be apt to play stronger and more exciting non-conference games and having two losses may not be the total end of the world.  As a result fans of teams can still have hope later in the regular season than they used to have.

Similarly, Major League Baseball realized they had a similar problem to college football with teams being completely out of contention come September and because of this fans weren't going to the stadium and watching the games on TV.  Seeing this was a problem, and trying to find more ways to make the end of the season more meaningful and exciting, Bud Selig and Major League Baseball decided to add a second Wild Card team two seasons ago. With this second Wild Card team, many more teams now have meaning to play in September and it gives the fans an incentive to follow their teams down the playoff stretch.

To bring this Rant full circle, I will now say why it is good the head to head match-up being the third, and not first tie-breaker,  is good for the World Cup.  As a US fan, having head to head be the third tie-breaker does actually hurt their chances. For instance, if head to head was the first tie-breaker, then they wouldn't have to worry about what Ghana does on Thursday, since they already beat them.  With goal differential being the number one tie-breaker however, Ghana is still very much a live within the tournament.  By having goal differential be the number tie breaker, it makes the third game of group play have a lot more meaning for the most part.  While there will be games like Spain and Australia yesterday, where both teams were already knocked out prior the playing the third game, by having goal differential be the first tie-breaker it keeps the chances of advancing for many teams alive.

While the tie-break rules may not benefit the US right now, I actually applaud FIFA for their tie-breaking rules since it increases the number of relevant teams and games.  Let's just hope though the US plays strong against Germany on Thursday (or agree to a tie) and that we won't have to worry about the various tie-breaking scenarios.

No Luck For The Irish

Well I guess the lucky tie that Red Auerbach gave Steve Pagliuca wasn't so lucky after all, as the Celtics to the shagrin of many Green Teamers got the 6th pick in last night's NBA Draft Lottery.  While the player the C's could get with the 6th pick will probably be very good, it is well documented that there is a big drop off from the top 3 players (Embiid, Parker and Wiggins) to the next level of players that the C's will be picking from.

Since the C's will most likely be looking to draft a power forward/center, the three names currently being thrown around are Noah Vonleh from Indiana ( a local kid who grew up in Haverhill, MA), Julius Randle from Kentucky and Aaron Gordon from Arizona.  While all these players will provide the Celtics with some much needed size down by the basket, I am not sure any of these guys are players that you build your franchise around.  It is for this reason why I hope the Celtics do whatever it takes to package their 6th overall pick this year, along with other future first round picks, to help trade for Kevin Love.  Thanks to the Brooklyn Nets the C's have rights to the Nets first round pick in 2016 and 2018 as well as the ability to swap their first round pick with the Nets in 2017.  The Celtics also have the rights the Clippers first round pick next year.  Needless to say the Celtics, who will also probably have themselves favorable first round picks for the next couple of years, have many assets at their disposal to use in a potential trade to help land a current proven player in the NBA with the leading candidate being Kevin Love.

The two major hurdles regarding a trade with Kevin Love is 1) he seems to be more interested in going to a team like the Warriors or Bulls who are currently a lot closer to winning an NBA title than the Celtics and 2) He is a free agent after this year so there is no guarantee the Celtics will be able to retain him.  If I was Kevin Love I personally would chose the Warriors or Bulls as well.  Going from the Timberwolves to the current Celtics is in my mind a pretty lateral move that probably doesn't excite him too much.  On the other hand the Celtics are committed to winning (not sure the Timberwolves are that committed), have an All-Star caliber point guard in Rondo and a coach in Brad Stevens who I think would work terrifically with Love's skill set.  With the potential of Love and Rondo, the Celtics would be just one player away from solidifying that solid three player core that so many teams try to achieve.  Getting the 6th overall pick unfortunately didn't help in the Celtics efforts to land Love.  If the C's had gotten a top 3 pick it would have been a lot more attractive to the Timberwolves, but now Danny Ainge will have to be more creative and decide if he wants to rebuild through the draft or figure out a way to use his ample supply of draft picks and become contender through trades.

Needless to say receiving the 6th pick in the lottery last night, combined with the Bruins getting eliminated from the playoffs last week and the Red Sox current five game losing streak, it has been a very tough week being a Boston sports fan.  On the bright side if it makes Celtics fans feel any better, the C's did select Larry Bird with the 6th overall pick in the 1978 draft.

Digesting The Bruins Loss To The Canadiens

So I have had a week to digest the Bruins game 7 loss to the Canadiens and elimination from the playoffs.  While I think I'm officially over the loss, it still stinks losing to your arch rival in a game 7 on your home ice.  Granted the Rangers have been playing great hockey over their last five games, it hurts even more seeing how the Canadiens have played so far in the Eastern Conference Finals.

I think it's safe to say two key ways the Bruins were exposed as a team in their series against the Canadiens was their overall team speed and inability to score goals when down by the net.  While it seems over the past few years that the Bruins flat out don't match-up well against the Canadiens, the B's will now have to maybe build their team in a new way since given the new playoff format they will most likely have to face Montreal most years in the playoffs.  I am not saying the Bruins need to have a complete overhaul.  They were the best team in the NHL during the regular season for a reason, but they need to maybe become more dynamic on offense.

Tyler Seguin was supposed to be the guy who had the combination of speed and ability to finish goals, but unfortunately that did not work out.  While Seguin definitely showed signs of what he was capable of during his time in Boston, he was too inconsistent. Most Bruins fans, including myself, had become sick and tired of hearing Jack Edwards say after a Seguin shot "High and off the glass."  Also, you could tell by the end of last year that the Bruins organization had become sick of his off the ice antics.  I don't blame the Bruins for trading Seguin and I think it's safe to say both the Stars and B's have benefited from the trade, but not having Seguin left that speed/dynamic scorer role vacant in the 2013-14 Bruins lineup.  Seguin was supposed to be the Bruins version of Patrick Kane, and now the B's will have to again begin their search for that style of player.

The player I would like to see the Bruins now go after in free agency is left winger Jussi Jokinen of the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Jokinen in many ways was the one bright spot for the Penguins in this year's playoffs, and while I am sure Pittsburgh will do their best job to try to re-sign him, I think Jussi is the perfect guy to fill the Bruins speed/scorer void. If the Bruins decide to not keep Jarome Iginla, Jokinen could immediately come in and enhance either their first or second line.  While I think Iginla is still capable of playing in the NHL for another year or two, Jokinen, who is five years younger than Iginla,  could be a long term asset for the Bruins if they could ink him to a multi-year deal.  Another reason I'd love to see Jokinen become a Bruin is that with the exception of maybe Nino Niederreiter of the Minnesota Wild, he easily has the best name in the NHL, and it would also give Tuukka Rask a fellow Finnish countryman to hang out with on the team.

As I said, the Bruins are still a very good team.  The Bruins will welcome back their second best defenseman in Dennis Seidenberg next season, and there is enough balance of youth and veteran experience on the team that there is no reason why they shouldn't be a force in the NHL next season and for the years to come.  I just hope this loss to Montreal was a wake up call to General Manager Peter Chiarelli that maybe he needs to change the makeup of the team a bit so they can compete with a team like the Canadiens over a long series.

B's Get Knocked Down

The picture above of Reilly Smith getting absolutely destroyed by P.K. Subban pretty much sums up game 3.  I truly thought the B's would come out a lot better than they did yesterday, and a lot of the same problems we saw the Bruins have in games 1 and 2 were evident in game 3 as well.  While last night's loss wasn't the end of the world by any means for the Black and Gold, it does make game 4 that much more important.

I have Ranted many times about the Bruins ability to come back, and while it is definitely a strength, they have to make sure it doesn't become a habit.  The B's have been down in all 3 games to the Habs by at least two goals and last night they were even down by three, which was a deficit they weren't able to overcome. The glaringly disturbing stat so far in the series is in the 3+ games (including overtime in game 1) the B's have only had a lead for 11 minutes.  If the Bruins want to have any chance at changing the momentum of the series, the B's have to have better starts to the games than the ones they have had so far.

 The two main things that really hurt the Bruins last night was their inability to score, which has become an unfortunate trend, and some obvious defensive miscues.Yesterday in my Rant I mentioned how the B's have had more than their fair sure of opportunities to score on Carey Price, and last night was no different.  If there is one thing the Bruins really lack it is having a player who is a pure goal scorer.  When the B's have had their opportunities to score down by the net they have either shot wide, high, whiffed or shot it right into Price's chest like Torey Krug did twice in the 2nd period last night.  In short the Bruins have basically found a way to shoot the puck in every possible way that doesn't result in a goal.

The other thing that has become quite evident is the Canadiens ability to block shots.  Last night the Habs had 29 blocked shots compared to just 20 by the B's.  In fact one of those blocked shots led to a break away goal by Dale Weise, which put Montreal up 3-0.  The Bruins have to somehow figure out a way to find holes in the Canadiens defense.  Add in the fact Montreal has been very physical, as was seen by many of their hits last night, and the Bruins in many ways are getting beat at their own game by the Habs.

The other aspect of the game last night that was really frustrating is all the Montreal goals came by a Canadien player getting behind the Bruins defense.  The first goal by the Habs occurred when Tomas Plekanec was able to sneak behind the entire Bruins defense and receive beautiful backdoor pass by Thomas Vanek  to bury the puck in the back of the net.  The second goal  by Montreal came when P.K. Subban was able to get free immediately after leaving the penalty box.  The Bruins have to have better awareness and communication about knowing when a player is coming out of the box.  Finally the third goal by the Canadiens came when Dale Weise was able to skate by the Bruins defense for another breakaway goal.  When watching post-game shows and listening to sports radio this morning many people were quick to mention Tuukka Rask's poor play last night, but with the exception of maybe the first goal when Rask cheated to the left leaving the entire right side of the goal open, I don't blame any of those goals on Rask.  Yes, a world class goalie should be able to stop a breakaway, especially against a player like Weise who only has 6 goals on the year, but I blame the defense, or lack of defense in this case, more on than I blame Rask.

If there is one thing we know for sure going forward in the series it is the Bruins will now have to win a game at the Bell Centre.  One thing the B's and Bruins fans can't blame last night is the officiating, as each team only had 1 penalty. The Bruins have to find their 5 on 5 game that they were so successful at in games 1 and 2 of the series, as well as pretty much the entire season.  I am not saying game 4 is an absolute must win, but it will be awfully tough to win 3 games in a row against this Montreal team.

In Claude We Trust

So far through two games the Bruins and Canadiens series has lived up to its billing.  The first two games were both extremely entertaining games and it is fitting that the series is tied at one going into game 3 up in Montreal tonight.  While this series seems like it is headed for at least six if not seven games the one telling stat that is in the B's favor tonight is their record under head coach Claude Julien in game 3's in the playoffs. Since Claude has taken over the Bruins, the Black and Gold are 14-1 in game 3's including being 3-0 against the Habs.

While I am always skeptical of comparing teams from year to year since the players on the teams change so often now, one thing that has been consistent under Calude's leadership is the B's never get rattled no matter the score in an individual game or in the score of a series.  The Bruins have overcome a two goal deficit in the playoffs three times so far this year, including the first 2 games against the Canadiens, and have rebounded with wins in game 2 in both series after dropping both game 1's.  While falling behind in a game, especially a multiple goal deficit, is never a good thing I think Claude's cool nature as a coach rubs off on the team.  Claude and the B's never feel like they are out of a game because they truly believe their depth and physical play will eventually wear down the opponent.

Obviously if you watched the first two games of the series the three main things as a Bruins fan you have to take away are: 1) The B's need to defend P.K (I learned this week it stands for Pernell Karl) Subban better at the point 2) The Bruins need to stay out of the penalty box. Local radio host Michael Felger has even gone so far to say that the B's shouldn't even check the Habs for the rest of the series and 3) The B's need capitalize on their scoring opportunities.  Watching overtime of game 1 and almost all of game 2 until the final 10 minutes, the Bruins had so many opportunities to score around the net yet were never able to capitalize.  Whether it was the Lucic whiff in game 1 or Loui Eriksson holding onto the puck for too long in game 2, it is clear the Bruins need to put the puck in the back of the net when they get Carey Price out of position.  Price has made some amazing saves through the first two games, but he has also given the Bruins many opportunities to get some easy goals.  Being in the hostile Bell Centre for the next two games where one can expect few breaks to go the Bruins way, the B's now more than ever need to take advantage of the scoring opportunities when they come their way.

My biggest takeaway from game 2 however wasn't something that happened on the ice, but rather something that took place on the Bruins bench.  For years Shawn Thornton has been a fan favorite, for his toughness on the ice and his persona off of it.  While Thornton may not score many goals, and come playoff time his role as the team's enforcer is greatly diminished, we saw on Saturday why he is so valuable to this Bruins team.  While it looked like Thornton may have suffered a serious leg injury when Subban dove instead of taking a hit, within a short amount of time Thornton was back on the Bruins bench after making a visit to the locker room.  While he barely played any shifts after returning to the bench, if you listened to the telecast Pierre McGuire mentioned multiple times how influential Thornton was in motivating the team as the B's made their epic comeback to win game 2.

While the Bell Centre is arguably the toughest place to play in the NHL, I have enough faith in Claude in game 3's and his ability to adjust within a series that the B's will come away victorious tonight.  I am not saying they will also win game 4, but if the B's can come away with a split in Montreal I think most Bruins fans will take that, as they will have regained home ice advantage.  Either way the atmosphere should be electric tonight in the Bell Centre and I can't wait to watch.

Last Nugget: So instead of writing P.S. at the end of every Rant, I figured I'd just start a new section called the "Last Nugget".  I am not sure it will be in every Rant, but basically it will revolve around a stat or topic that I found interesting that week but maybe not worthy of a full Rant.  This Rant's Last Nugget is in regards to blown leads.  While I touched on it in my Rant last week and also briefly in this Rant above, if there is one major storyline from this year's NHL Playoffs, it is "the dreaded two goal lead."  So far in these playoffs there have been 20 two goal leads that have been blown, and we are only in the early stages of the second round. Also, it looks like blowing multiple goal leads is contagious as the epidemic inflicted itself in the English Premier League yesterday.  Liverpool ,who was in the driver's seat to win the league title, blew a 3 goal lead in the final 10 minutes of yesterday's game against Crystal Palace and as a result will now most likely not win the league.   As an Everton fan, Liverpool's arch rival, I took great joy in this and I enjoyed even more seeing the Liverpool fans and players cry their faces off after the game ended.  Because I could watch video of this all day long, I provided a clip below.  Anyways, enjoy the Bruins game tonight and the other playoff games whether it be in the NHL or NBA.

Bring On The Habs

The Bruins quest to return to the Stanley Cup finals for the second year in a row, and for the third time in the last four years, took a big step forward this past Saturday when they beat the Red Wings 4-2 to win the series decisively 4-l and setting up a second round series against the rival Canadiens.What made this series encouraging from a Bruins fan perspective is that besides the power play being a strength, compared to past playoffs where it was a glaring weakness, is that this series was never in doubt even after they lost game 1.

While the playoffs began with a 1-0 loss for the Bruins, the B's responded with a convincing 4-1 in game 2 and then took a stronghold on the series by winning 2 games, including coming back from a 2 goal deficit in game 4, in Joe Louis Arena.  If there is one thing we have learned about the Bruins over the past four seasons is that they are never fazed by any deficit whether it be in a game or in a series. The Bruins continue to play within their system and more times than not their depth proves to be too much for the opposition.

It certainly does help to have a Vezina trophy finalist in Tuukka Rask between the pipes, but what makes the Black and Gold so dangerous is their ability to wear down an opponent over 60 minutes.  The Bruins may not have one individual flashy goal scorer, but they roll out three lines on a nightly basis that are all capable of scoring and more importantly are probably the best three lines in hockey at playing two-way hockey, with Selke trophy finalist Patrice Bergeron leading the way.  If any stat is indicative of showing the depth of the Bruins is that in their five first round games, they had ten different goal scorers.

Another encouraging sign for the Bruins is the one thing that worried fans the most coming into the playoffs, being the youth on defense, has steadily improved as the regular season ended and the playoffs began.  Dougie Hamilton, Torey Krug, Matt Bartkowski and Kevan Miller have all been playing some of the best hockey of their young careers as of late and are slowly but surely making Bruins fans forget about injured defenseman Dennis Seidenberg.  Add in the fact that Justin Florek, who came out of nowhere to fill in admirably for Chris Kelly on the third line, and Carl Soderberg playing as well as probably any third liner in the NHL, and the future looks bright for the Bruins, not only in these playoffs but for the years to come as well.

What makes these playoffs for the Bruins potentially extra special is the B's have the chance to go through the entire playoffs playing only Original Six teams if the Bruins can beat the Canadiens this series, the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Finals and then potentially the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Finals.  However since I do believe the Canadiens pose the biggest threat to the Bruins in the Eastern Conference, I won't look too far ahead.  Montreal played the Bruins better than any opponent this year and regardless of the year they always play the B's tough in the playoffs.  Due to the fanaticism of their fans, playing in the Bell Centre is always one of the toughest arenas to come out of victorious as a visiting opponent, and because of that having home ice advantage may come in handy in this series more than any other series the B's may potentially have to play in these playoffs.

Whenever the Bruins and Canadiens face-off against each other, whether it be in the regular season or playoffs, it is different than any opponent the B's play. For instance last year when the Bruins played the Blackhawks in the finals I truly believe there was mutual respect amongst both franchises and fans.  One only had to see the ad Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz took out in the Boston Globe after Chicago won the Stanley Cup to see the mutual admiration between the cities and teams. When the Bruins and Canadiens play each other however there is legitimate animosity between the fans and teams, and that's what makes this rivalry so intense.  In the early 2000's I think it is safe to say there was no greater rivalry in professional sports than the Yankees and Red Sox, but in the past few years it appears that rivalry has become diluted, and from a Boston fan's perspective I think the Bruins and Canadiens rivalry has only intensified since then.  One only had to see how fanatical Canadiens fans can be when they asked for Zdeno Chara to be arrested after his hit (pictured below) on Max Pacioretty in 2011.  If you are a Bruins fan I highly recommend you tune into some Montreal sports talk radio this week and during the series, because it is highly entertaining just to see how crazy their fans can be.  I fully admit Boston sports fans can be loud and obnoxious, but Montreal fans tend take things to the next level. 

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Since the Canadiens and Bruins finished their games in four and five games respectively, there is a chance that we may have to wait until next Saturday for the series to start, but if you are a hockey fan, or just a sports fan in general ,I hope you spend your evenings this week watching the other first round games.  My previous Rant was about how great the NHL Playoffs are and this past weekend proved that again.  Last night in particular the Anaheim Ducks looked down and out for almost the entire game, yet in the final 2 minutes of regulation  with their goalie pulled they were able to score 2 goals to tie the game and then ended up winning both the game and series overtime.  Needless to say these playoffs have been nuts.  

I cannot emphasize enough what a special time of year this is if you are a sports fan, hell the NBA playoffs are even extremely entertaining so far, and as a B's fan I cannot wait for the next chapter in the Bruins-Canadiens rivalry to begin.

P.S.  I was fortunate enough to attend the game 5 of the Bruins-Red Wings this past Saturday and once again I was blown away by the energy in the building.  In my previous Rant I mentioned that an NHL Playoff game is one of the best sporting events to attend in person and this Saturday only further enhanced my opinion on that matter.  Below are a few of the pictures I took.

April Madness

I will always go on the record saying the NCAA Basketball Tournament is the best tournament in sports, but coming in a close second is the NHL Playoffs.  The main reason why I prefer March Madness is because of the one and done format and there are teams from all different conferences ranging in skill ability, whereas in professional sports like the NHL, where there is a salary cap, each team in theory should have close to equal skill sets and have a relatively equal chance of winning a title.  As we all know this isn't the case because some teams have better scouts and manage their money better than others, but for the most part there is great parity in the NHL when it comes to the teams that make the playoffs. As a result of the parity in the NHL Playoffs, the chances of the underdog winning a series is better than in any other professional sport and that is why I love watching the games so much.

What makes hockey and the NHL Playoffs so unique is it's such a team sport, whereas the NBA, who is also in their playoffs now, is more of an individual driven sport.  Another reason why I love the NHL Playoffs is the Stanley Cup.  If I were to win one trophy as an athlete it would be the Stanley Cup. When a player hoists the Stanley Cup, you can immediately tell how much that player sacrificed to win that trophy.  Since nearly every NHL Playoff series seems to go 6-7 games, the teams that end up playing for the Stanley Cup have to play nearly 3 more months of hockey on top of the taxing 82 game regular season.  In addition to the extreme joy and emotions associated with hoisting the Stanley Cup, the party that ensues after is unbelievable.  The hockey player more than any professional athlete relates to the common man, and when the Bruins won it in 2011 it was awesome to see the team bring the Cup to bars in the days following to share it with the fans.  Add in the fact that each player gets a day with the Cup during the off-season and has their name is forever etched on its side, to me there is no better trophy to win in sports.

If there was a perfect example of how awesome the NHL Playoffs are, last night was it.  All three games last night (St. Louis-Chicago, Dallas-Anaheim and Columbus-Pittsburgh) all entered with a team (St. Louis, Anaheim and Pittsburgh) leading a series 2-1 and as a sports fan one of the worst things that could have happened is if all three games ended with the series at 3-1.  However, the sports gods were in full force last night and provided us with three extremely entertaining games and when all was said and done all three series were all tied up at 2-2. What made last night so entertaining in particular was in each game there was a lead of at least 2-0 and in all cases the team losing came back to tie the game, and in the case of Columbus and Dallas, ended up winning the game.

Finally, I've been to almost every possible sporting event and I can honestly say the best games to see in person are a college basketball game with two highly ranked teams and an NHL Playoff game.  What separates these two sporting events from the others is the energy in the building.  If you watched the NHL games last night, you would have seen fans on their feet at HOCKEY game in cities that aren't known for their love of hockey, in Columbus and Dallas. There is something special about the NHL Playoffs where a switch is turned on and the fans become electric and each shift the players skate with unbelievable energy and intensity.  Even watching the NHL Playoff games at home on television like I did  last night you could  feel the energy from the arenas on the couch in my house.

As awesome as these first round series have been so far, the best part is this is just the beginning of the NHL Playoffs and we still have a good two months left.   Buckle up.

P.S.  One way you know it's officially April Madness is when Marc-Andre Fleury becomes a complete sieve like he did at the end of last night's game against the Blue Jackets.

Boston Took Back The Finish Line

This past week in Boston was an emotional one; from the one year anniversary of the Marathon bombings last week on April 15th to running of the race yesterday.  As a person who has called Boston home for the entire 30 years of my life, Marathon Monday has always been in many ways a high holiday.  As a kid it meant having school off, in college at BC it meant having a big party with fellow students while cheering on the runners as they finished up Heartbreak Hill, and as an adult it has meant meeting up with friends around the city and enjoying what always seems to be one of the first real nice days of spring. Last year however as we all know everything changed.  Four lives were lost and nearly 300 people were injured and many wondered as a result if one of the most celebrated events in Boston would ever be the same.

I think it's safe to say whenever the Boston Marathon occurs that we will always remember what happened on April 15, 2013, but the way yesterday transpired it is apparent the city has built itself back up.  Besides the great weather, it was awesome to see the large crowds on the sidewalks and the race packed with tens of thousands of runners all running for great causes.  The true sign however that I knew Boston took back the finish line however was when Patrick Downes and Jessica Kensky Downes crossed the finish line together (pictured above).  Both Patrick and Jessica lost their left legs last year during the explosions by the finish line last year, but just 53 weeks later they were able to cross the finish line together in handcycles.  As a BC alum in particular it was great to see a fellow Eagle in Patrick accomplish such a feat knowing all obstacles he and Jessica have had to overcome.

Between Patrick and Jessica and all the thousands of others who were able to finish the race along with an American male in Meb Keflezighi winning the Marathon for the first time since 1983, it was truly a special day.  The only way the day could have possibly gone better was if the Red Sox pulled off another massive comeback, but I will let that one slide given the way the organization honored all the first responders and victims the night before and then ended up coming from behind to beat the Orioles in the ninth inning.  All in all it was an awesome day and one in which I am proud to call myself a Bostonian.

Below I have posted a few pictures that I was able to take at the bottom of my street at the 25 kilometer mark in Wellesley.

The Roller Coaster Week That Was BC Athletics

So I realize I haven't had a Rant in a week, and the main reason is that there appeared to be a lot going on in a short amount of time and I didn't know which topic to blog about, so I finally decided to do a comprehensive piece today that quickly hits upon a variety of topics starting with the BC spring football game last Saturday and ending with the NHL debuts for Johnny Gaudreau and Bill Arnold this Sunday.

So last Saturday (April 5th) my father and I spent the afternoon at Alumni Stadium taking in the annual Jay McGillis spring football game.  Like with any spring game no matter who your team is, it is very hard to judge how a team is based upon a spring game.  First off everyone plays for the same team, secondly it is not a legit football game, there is a lot of situational football with a scoring system that I think nobody understood and finally there were a fair share of players who sat out.

As for my thoughts based on what I saw, it was a tale of two halves. In the first half the offense dominated.  Tyler Murphy, the quarterback transfer from Florida, showed off his speed on a few scrambles and Myles Willis, David Dudeck and Tyler Rouse all ran the ball well.  Although Murphy is cable of throwing the ball, due to BC's lack of a go to receiver I think you will see a lot of running the ball as we saw last year, but I think with Murphy's speed there will be the added element of the option in this year's run game.

The second half was dominated by the defense with Sean Duggan anchoring the squad.  Duggan appeared to be all over the field, which is a good sign since the Eagles have to replace their defensive leader in Kevin Pierre-Louis from last year.  My one real negative thought in regards to the defensive play was that the secondary dropped a few interceptions that they should  have easily had.

Finally, I actually thought the crowd wasn't that bad.  I'm sure if you see my pictures from the game you may say it looks like no one is there, but that was because the whole crowd was behind the sideline I was sitting on.  I have been to a handful of spring games in the past decade and I thought this was easily the biggest turnout.  I know some people mentioned there was a lack of young alumni presence, but I thought as a whole the turnout was good.  Also, I am smart enough to know BC is never going to get 100,000 like Alabama does. Finally congratulations to Dominique Williams on winning the Jay McGillis scholarship.  This year's recipient is extra special because Williams comes from McGillis' hometown of Brockton.  Below I posted a picture of Williams receiving the scholarship.

From the gridiron to the ice, it was a week of extreme lows and extreme highs for the BC hockey team.  The week started off with a tough loss to the eventual National Champion Union.  Even though BC got off to an early 1-0 on a Johnny Gaudreau goal, it was clear from the first puck drop that Union was going to be really tough.  I won't really comment too much on the game, because it is tough to recap a loss of such magnitude but I think we can all agree that not being able to score on the 5 minute power play in the 3rd period and having Union score shortly after they killed the penalty was the back breaker.  The one encouraging sign is the team did fight to the literal last second as they almost scored which would have tied the game as time expired. The tough part about this loss is there are two teams that have played BC really tough the last two years and those teams are Notre Dame, who knocked BC out of the Hockey East playoffs and Union who ended the Eagles' season in the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row.

If there was a silver lining to this year's Frozen Four loss it was that nearly 24 hours after defeat BC fans had a lot to cheer for as Johnny Gaudreau won the school's 3rd Hobey Baker.  This award came as no shock as Gaudreau was hands down the best player in college hockey this year scoring a nation leading 36 goals and 44 assists to finish the season with 80 points which was 15 more points than teammate and linemate Kevin Hayes who finished second in the nation in points with 65.  The celebratory weekend continued for Johnny Hockey and BC teammate Bill Arnold as they signed professional contracts with the Calgary Flames on Friday and were able to make their NHL debuts Sunday night against the Vancouver Canucks.  And to anyone who has watched Gaudreau this year it was no shock he scored (which you can watch below) his first NHL goal on his first ever shot.  While many are skeptical on the type of player Gaudreau will be in the NHL based on his size, or lack thereof, I always counter with the line about how you can't hit someone who you can't catch.  Add his hockey IQ,  and unbelievable stick handling skills to his speed and I am confident Gaudreau will have a strong NHL career.  It also helps that former Eagles Brian Gionta and Nathan Gerbe, who are also both small, have had very good NHL careers.  As for the team Arnold and Gaudreau will be playing for, watching the game Sunday it appears the Flames have a long, long way to go to becoming a playoff contender.

Now transitioning from the ice to the hardwood.  The Jim Christian hire came with much skepticism, as was noted in my previous Rant, but the one thing Christian made clear in his introductory press conference is he needed to hire a staff with ACC experience and had roots in recruiting New England, and Christian followed through on his promise with the hiring of former Maryland assistant coach Scott Spinelli.  Spinelli is a Leominster, MA native and graduate of Boston University and has spent the last three seasons on Mark Turgeon's staff with the Terrapins.  Prior to coaching at Maryland he also worked with Turgeon at both Wichita State and Texas A&M.  I think this is a solid hire, and hopefully will help BC in the recruitment of local kids, an area in which the program has struggled with immensely in recent history.  It would be nice if Christian could also add Danya Abrams to his staff, as I mentioned last week.  I think it always helps to have a former player as part of the staff.  Also, Abrams has strong knowledge of the current team having been a part of the radio broadcasts for the past couple of seasons.  

Finally, it was tough to see Ryan Anderson and now potentially Joe Rahon transfer. It doesn't come as a shock as it has been rumored since Michael Vega's article during The ACC tournament, but I was hoping Christian would be able to convince them to stay (although Rahon's isn't official yet).  It will also be very interesting to see if Olivier Hanlan will declare for the draft.  If Rahon actually does in fact transfer, it may be real tough to convince Hanlan to stay, since he will literally be a one man team and I have to imagine staying next year will only hurt his draft stock. With that being said I hope he does decide to stay and hopefully Christian can also bring in a strong transfer who can play right away.  

Finally I will end this Rant on a positive story.  This past weekend Catholic School rivals Notre Dame and Boston College took the diamond in Chicago as opponents but were both fighting for a common cause.  Fellow BC '07 alum and former Birdballer Pete Frates was diagnosed last year with ALS and this past weekend both ND and BC joined forces to raise money to help Strike Out ALS as all ticket proceeds went towards the Pete Frates #3 Fund.  It was nice to see former BC Manager and current Notre Dame Manager Mik Aoki help set this weekend up, and it was even nicer to see Notre Dame do away with their green uniforms for the weekend as they wore red jerseys this weekend in honor of ALS awareness.  As for the series, Notre Dame took 2 of 3 from the Eagles, but needless to say the outcome to a backseat to awareness this series created.  Finally, if you weren't able to attend but want to contribute to the Pete Frates #3 Fund, here is the link . 

Let the Jim Christian Era Begin

Well after two very long weeks, Brad Bates finally hired former Ohio University head coach Jim Christian to be the next head man for Boston College men's basketball team.  Unfortunately the excitement Bates has regarding this hire is not mutual amongst fans and alums.  While I think everyone agrees Steve Donahue had to be let go as BC's coach, I am not sure Christian is that much of an upgrade.  This was BC's opportunity to make a splash hire, but in my mind this hire was a complete flop.  I am not saying Christian will fail as the head coach, but I don't think he's the guy who will take the team to the next level and make the Eagles a constant fixture in the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

The question now becomes who could have Bates hired for this to have been considered a home run?  In my mind it would have been Jay Wright.  With Buzz Williams leaving Marquette in the now weakened Big East for a lower level basketball school in Virginia Tech, I thought Bates could have used a similar tactic to lure Wright from Villanova to BC.  I know the chances of Wright, a Pennsylvania native who currently coaches at a school where basketball is the #1 sport by a landslide, leaving Philly for Boston would have been slim, but I was hoping Bates could have made a financial offer that he couldn't refuse.  Also, as I joked on Twitter I was hoping Bates would let Wright know that the BC head basketball coach gets free suits at Eastern Clothing of Watertown.  Ed Cooley, the former BC assistant and current Providence head coach, was another guy I thought Bates could have convinced to leave the Big East and come to the ACC. While Cooley is a Providence native and currently makes $2 million annually as the Friars head coach, I was really hoping that the BC brass would have realized that this was the time to open up their checkbook to get a guy like Cooley or Wright to come to Chestnut Hill.  If BC wants to take their basketball program to the next level they have to make a commitment financially both in terms of the salary of the head coach and upgrades to the practice facility. The other name that was thrown around that would have been a home run hire was Ben Howland, but the chances of him leaving California for the East Coast was very unlikely, and now that the Cal job is open I think it's only a matter of days until he is announced as the new coach of the Bears.

My one huge gripe with the Christian hire isn't necessarily that he came from the MAC, a conference where he has had great success both at Kent State and Ohio, but when he had a chance to coach on a bigger stage like when he was at TCU, he didn't do much to prove that he could coach at an elite level.  I would rather have had Bates hire a guy who was an unknown than to hire a guy whom we know what his ceiling is mostly going to be.  That is why Joe Dooley, the current head coach at Florida Gulf Coast and who was considered another finalist in the BC coaching search, would have made me more excited.  Dooley came within one win of having the Florida Gulf Coast back in the NCAA Tournament, and having spent the previous 10 years as an assistant at Kansas under Bill Self he became known as one of the top recruiters,including getting many kids from the East Coast to go to school in Lawrence.

The other direction I wouldn't have minded Bates going was giving a long time assistant at one of college basketball's elite programs a chance.  For instance Jeff Boals, a long time assistant for Thad Matta at Ohio State, to me would have made more sense than Christian.  Matta's assistants, including Archie and Sean Miller, have had great success as head coaches, and I am confident Boals will make a great head coach one day.  Ironically Boals, an Ohio University alum, appears to be the front runner to replace Christian at Ohio.  Other programs I wouldn't have minded Bates taking a look at assistant coaches are Michigan State and Michigan. Tom Izzo and John Beilein have been the models for consistency in college basketball and I don't think it would have hurt to have taken a look at some of their assistant coaches to see if anyone was ready to take their careers to the next level.

My final point I want to touch upon in this Rant is to compare Christian to a coach I think BC fans should look at for a comparison.  This coach is Brad Brownell, the current head coach of Clemson. Both Brownell and Christian are relatively the same age, and both coaches came from coaching mid major schools in Ohio prior to making the jump to the ACC.  Brownell made the NCAA Tournament in his first year as the head coach of the Tigers in the 2010-11 season, and after two tough years he finally had the Tigers competitive again, leading them to the NIT Semifinals and finishing with a record of 23-13.  Brownell appears to have rebounded well from his recent struggles and if he can get Clemson to the NCAA Tournament next year it will give me hope that Christian will have similar success at BC.  If Christian can convince Hanlan, Rahon and Anderson all to stay, which is still a huge question mark, BC could have a potentially good season if they can play better defense and be more consistent on offense.   However, expect after next season for the Eagles to have a huge drop off, as they will lose just about everyone who is part of their current core, which leads me to my next point.

Jim Christian has to hire a staff that has experience not only in recruiting elite players, but recruiting players in New England.  One of Donahue's failures as a head coach was he surrounded himself, after the departure of Joe Jones to BU, with a staff that was made up of coaches with only Ivy League and Division III coaching experience.  If you watched the NCAA Tournament this year you would have seen numerous players who came from the New England area, yet didn't even consider going to BC.  When Steve Addazio, another coach who came from the MAC, took over the BC football program he stated he wanted to build a fence around New England in terms of recruiting and so far he has lived up to his word.  Having coached in Ohio and Texas for the majority of his career, Christian does not appear to have much experience in recruiting the Northeast and because of that it is key that he finds an assistant who has this experience.  One potential assistant coach whose name has been thrown around is current BC basketball radio analyst and former BC player Danya Abrams who was part of the famed Elite 8 team in 1994.   While Abrams does not have the coaching experience needed to be a lead assistant, I think it would be good for the team to have a former player on the staff.  Also, having called BC games on the radio for the past couple of seasons Abrams is knowledgeable about the current team and could be helpful to Christian in that regard.

Needless to say I am not thrilled with this hire.  I was really hoping BC would have hired a prominent coach, but unfortunately that wasn't the case.  I hope Christian is able to shut up the critics, but I am very skeptical that he will.  As I tweeted yesterday, I will still support and root for Christian and the BC basketball team, but I am worried there won't be much to cheer for.  On the bright side, at least there is one team that plays in Conte Forum that always gives us something to cheer about, and I am looking forward to see them play next Thursday as they go for the school's sixth national title.

NCAA First Weekend Rant

So I am going to change the format for the Rant up a bit for this.  I decided to break the first weekend of March Madness into various categories and picking the team/teams that best fit that category.  If you want me to potentially add a different category for next week let me know.

BEST GAME: I think it's safe to say the best game of the weekend without a doubt was the Wichita State-Kentucky game.  When filling out my bracket, no game in the first weekend caused me to deliberate when picking a winner more than this game. My heart wanted me to pick Wichita State, but my head always said Kentucky.  Kentucky finished the season strong and came within one point of beating Florida in the SEC title game.  The Shockers on the other hand came in undefeated, but hadn't really been challenged in quite sometime.

Prior to the game I had such high expectations for the game, which usually means the game will end up being one sided, kind of like how the Super Bowl was this year.  This game however lived up to the hype for all 40 minutes.  It was continuously back and forth and the stars of both teams brought their "A" games.  Cleanthony Early played arguably the best game of his career for Wichita State, which I am sure caught the eyes of many NBA scouts, and the Harrison twins for Kentucky played probably their two best games of the season.  It's a shame one team had to lose, but it was fitting that Kentucky won by 2 points as it showed just how close the game really was.  I came into the tournament with skepticism regarding Wichita State's #1 seed and how far they would go in the tournament, and although they lost in the second round, they proved that they could indeed play with anybody in the country.  Kentucky on the other hand, whom many had as their pre-season #1 based on another extremely talented freshman class, failed to live up to their expectations for nearly the whole season, but now it looks like they have finally come together as a team, and are now a legitimate threat in the tournament and playing far better than a team that is seeded 8th in their region.

MOST SURPRISING TEAM: This was a toss up between Dayton and Stanford, but I decided to go with Dayton ever so slightly.  Coincidentally both these teams, whom I am sure nearly no one had advancing past the first weekend, will face each other int he Sweet 16 this week, meaning one of these teams seeded 11 and 10 respectively will be in the Elite 8.  Dayton had to beat both their in state foe Ohio State and the Syracuse, who was playing a near home game in Buffalo, to advance.  While I think Stanford's win over Kansas was the most impressive win between the two teams, regardless of Kansas not having Embiid play, I thought the body of work by Dayton over the two games was slightly better.

MOST IMPROVED TEAM FROM GAME 1 to GAME 2: This award will have to go to the Virginia Cavaliers.  Even though I am an ACC fan, being a BC alum, and knowing UVA won both the regular and ACC Tournament titles, I still had my doubts about them being a #1 seed.  Clearly they could win, but they have never been a team that was flashy.  If you know the Bennett family, you know that they emphasize defense, and Tony Bennett has had UVA play some incredible defense this year.  In the first game against Coastal Carolina UVA looked far from a #1 seed and struggled to pull away from the Chanticleers (I had to work in that mascot into the Rant somehow, one of the most unique in college sports) until the final 7 minutes or so of the game.  Against Memphis in round 2 however, UVA looked like a #1 seed, and a team that could give Michigan State, whom I have as one of the favorites to win it all, a hell of a fight in the Sweet 16.  The Cavaliers completely shut down the Memphis offense, and they were also able to knock down the 3 point shot with ease, which is the key to their offensive success. Between game 1 and game 2 UVA looked like a completely different team, and now one that wouldn't shock me if they end up in Dallas next weekend.

DARK HORSE TEAM TO ADVANCE TO THE FINAL 4:  For some reason I felt like I watched more Big 12 games this year than any other league.  It seemed anytime I turned ESPN on during the week, another Big 12 game was being played.  As a result there were two teams that I put int he category of  "they can beat any team, but at the same time they can lose to any team" and those two teams were Baylor and Oklahoma State.  On paper Baylor seems like they should be a force of a team.  They probably have 2 of the best big men in college basketball in Cory Jefferson and Isaiah Austin, they have a knock down three-point shooter in Brady Heslip and a skilled point guard in Kenny Chery.  The team the Bears put on the court in the first weekend, especially the one against Creighton, was a team that I feel like could compete with anyone in the tournament.  The Bears dominated down low and were hitting three pointers left and right, and when a team can dominate in those two categories it is almost impossible to defend.  While the Bears will face a tough opponent in Wisconsin in the Sweet 16, if they can play like they did in San Antonio then it really wouldn't shock me if they beat the Badgers and then move on to the next game with a chance to advance to the Final 4.

BEST SWEET 16 GAME:  I won't go too in depth here because anytime you mention Louisville-Kentucky, then you know it's a big basketball game.  While it's always a huge game when the two in-state rivals play each other in the regular season, it is even that much more magnified when the two meet in the NCAA Tournament.  The last time the Wildcats and Cardinals met in the tournament was in the 2012 Final 4 when Kentucky beat Louisville to advance to the title game in which they ended up winning.  While this game only a Sweet 16 game, I do believe the winner has the inside track in the region to advancing to the Final 4. For the sake of my bracket, I am going to have to root for the Cardinals in this one, but I am expecting a great game.  

TEAMS THAT I THINK WILL WIN IT ALL: If you saw either of my two brackets you would know that I think the winner of my predicted Final 4 match-up between Florida and Michigan State will win it all, and as a result I am going to stick with those teams.  I believe both these teams not only have the most overall talent, but both have the greatest depth of any teams left.  While I think Florida without a doubt has the easiest route to get to the Final 4, I do think if UVA plays like they did against Memphis then they could give Michigan State a very tough time in the Sweet 16.  Arizona is also a team that has lived up their #1 seeding through the first weekend and looks like they have what it takes to cut down the nets in Dallas. 

BEST MOMENT OF THE FIRST WEEKEND:  If you love pageantry in college sports like I do, then you know one of the best parts of the March Madness is watching the bench players' reactions and the pep bands for each school.  It is for this reason why I am giving my moment of the first weekend award to the Stanford cow bell guy Alex Chang.  Hands down most enthusiastic cow beller I have ever seen.  Feel free to see him in his element below.

RANDOM THOUGHT: This random thought doesn't really have much to do with the NCAA Tournament per se, but watching Gonzaga get beat pretty handily by Arizona on Sunday made me think if Mark Few will now start to consider leaving Gonzaga.  Last year when the Zags were the #1 seed you could argue it was their best chance, with the exception of maybe the Adam Morrison years, to make it to the Final 4, and they lost in the Round of 32.  I thought for sure Mark Few may have made the jump to a power conference when his alma mater Oregon had a job opening in 2010, but he decided again to stay put in Spokane.  The one job I think he may now consider is Washington, which has a good chance of opening up if Lorenzo Romar has another sub par year next season.  Former Boise State football coach Chris Petersen, a guy whom many compared to Few, finally made the jump to Washington this year, and I am curious to see if the Husky job opens up if Few will follow in Petersen's footsteps.  

Puck Talk

With March Madness now in full swing and also occupying nearly all of my attention there are two teams that I have failed to Rant about being a Boston and BC sports fan, and those are the Bruins and the BC men's hockey team.

The Bruins are currently the hottest team in the NHL, having won 12 straight games and leading the Penguins  by 6 points in the Eastern Conference and tied with the St. Louis Blues with 103 points for top the team in all of the NHL.  The Olympic break to me couldn't have come at a worse time for the B's as they had won 7 of 9 heading into the break, and I was worried that the long layoff would cause the team to lose all of their momentum.  The B's returned from the break by losing their first two games, which caused me to believe that my previous concerns had become true, but since a 6-3 Sunday night beating of the New York Rangers at MSG on the night of the Oscars on March 1st, the Bruins have been in cruise control having not lost a game since.

When the NHL trade deadline hit on March 5, most Bruins fans thought the team didn't fully address the team's top need, which was getting a top 4 defenseman, having lost Dennis Seidenberg for the season due to injury.  The Bruins did get defensemen Andrej Meszaros and Corey Potter but neither of these guys really wowed the Bruins' fanbase.  What the Bruins did get at the beginning of March however, which has proven to be a major factor in the team's recent success, was a rejuvenated Jerome Iginla and a confident Carl Soderberg.

When the Bruins got Iginila in the off-season, Bruins fans were hoping for a second or third line player and for much of the beginning part of the season he seemed out of sorts.  Since the Olympic break however he has lit the ice on fire and has looked like the Jerome Iginla of old during his peak with the Calgary Flames.  In the team's 13 games in the month of March Iginla has 11 goals, 3 assists and a +/- of +10.  Soderberg on the other hand was a player that came to the Bruins with high expectations, and starting last year and through the beginning of this season he had failed to live up to those lofty expectations.  Similar to Iginla, Soderberg has been playing some great hockey in the month of March by scoring 4 goals and tallying 6 assists, many of which have been highlight reel passes. Many would argue the main reason why the Bruins have been so good over the past few seasons is because of how strong all four of their lines are.  Soderberg has been the anchor on the Bruins third line as of late and this past Saturday against the Coyotes in Phoenix the Bruins won on a goal from B's enforcer Shawn Thornton which is another example how even the 4th line, aka The Merlot line, is contributing to the team's recent success.

While the Bruins have been scorching hot this month, this week will be a strong test to see where the team stands heading into the playoffs.  Tonight the B's take on Montreal, a team until their most recent outing 2 weeks ago has had the Bruins number as of late, then they play last year's Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks at the Garden on Thursday night and then the team finishes the week with games at Washington and at Philadelphia.  Needless to say this team has been a treat to watch recently and I look forward to another long playoff run this spring.

As for the BC hockey team, the regular season did not end the way many fans thought it would.  The team ended the regular season losing to Notre Dame, and then lost 2-1 in the best of 3 series to the Irish in the Hockey East quarterfinals.  While this was tough to swallow after the team had a 17 game unbeaten stream and seemed unstoppable, I am hoping that a) Notre Dame just had the Eagles' number and b) the team learned from their mistakes and will correct them this weekend in the Northeast Regional of the NCAA Tournament in Worcester.

BC's draw in the tournament is somewhat favorable. The Eagles earned the Northeast Regional's #1 seed and the #2 overall seed in the tournament and will begin play Saturday afternoon by taking on a Denver team that has a mediocre record of 20-15-6 and who would not have made the tournament had they not won the NCHC Tournament this past weekend.  If BC were to win this game, which I expect they will, then they will take on the winner of UMass-Lowell and Minnesota State.  I expect the Hockey East Tournament winner Riverhawks to win this game, which would give us a Hockey East regional final with BC against UMass Lowell.  This is where things could get interesting.  Lowell is obviously a hot team right now, and has played BC tough this season, but I think this is where the power of Jerry York kicks in. In case you aren't aware BC's last 3 titles were in the years 2008, 2010 and 2012, so it only makes sense that 2014 is the next time the Eagles would raise another banner, which would give the school a total of six titles in men's hockey.  Also, in all those years BC made it to the Frozen Four via Worcester, so that is something else in BC's favor.

A few other side notes regarding the NCAA Tournament in respects to BC:  Eagles fans can breathe a little easier knowing the earliest the BC would have to play the thorn in the team's side, the Irish of Notre Dame, would be in the National Title game.  This would also be the earliest the Eagles would have to play Minnesota, who along with BC, were the clear top 2 teams throughout the entire college hockey season.  The one potential drawback for the Eagles is they'd have to play Union, who is the hottest team in the nation and currently ranked #1, in the semi-finals.

Well that's about it, and as usual Go Eagles this weekend, and remember In York We Trust.  As for those asking about a Rant in regards to the NCAA basketball tournament, I plan to have one up by Thursday.  I literally felt overwhelmed, albeit in a good way, with March Madness these past four days so I figured I'd give my brain a rest for at least a day and focus on hockey.