I’m Throwing Another Name Into the Toughest Bruin Race

Posted on February 22, 2012 by amazze

So I saw Jimmy’s post yesterday about the toughest Bruin on the team, Lucic or Thornton. It’s definitely a toss-up between those two but I’m probably taking Looch because he has the size advantage. However, I honestly believe both of these guys are not the toughest on the team. Two words Adam McQuaid. He is an animal. A throwback hockey player who is tough as nails and will beat the tar out of anyone who messes with his teammates in a manner he does not find appropriate. Sure, Chara would probably beat any of them in a fight but that’s because he is 6’9” 260 lbs. Check out the video below to see a McQuaid beatdown.

March Madness Preview Day 3

Posted on February 22, 2012 by christoph131

With Selection Sunday less than 3 weeks away, I thought it would be a good idea to look into the top teams to try to figure out who will be rewarded the #1 seeds in each bracket. So each day this week, I will be putting up a short summary of each team’s top players, remaining schedule, and other projections.

Kentucky | Syracuse | Missouri

#3 Missouri

Remaining Opponents: #5 Kansas, Iowa State, Texas Tech

Prediction: Missouri has had a great season so far. They have only lost three games. Unfortunately, two of those losses were to Kansas State, and a fluke loss to sub-.500 team Oklahoma State by 7 points. Other than that they have been flawless, winning many games by double figures. They beat Kansas once before a few weeks ago, by 3 points, and will face them again on Saturday. This is going to be a close game but they are away. I do not think they will win this game. Since they already have three losses, I do not think they will be a #1 seed come March 11^th.

Marcus Denmon is a 6’3 Senior who, in my opinion, is one of the top players in the Big 12. He averages 17.8 PPG, 5.2 RPG, in 33.9 Minutes a night. He has scored over 20 points in 9 games this season. Denmon shoots almost 90% from the free throw line.

Senior Kim English is their #2 scorer with 14.2 PPG, and 4.1 RPG. He also shoots over 50% from the field. He is barely behind Denmon with 32.9 Minutes per game.

Ricardo Ratliffe is the third senior in this line up. He is a 6’8 forward who averages 13.7 PPG on 73% shooting from the field. He also grabs 7 rebounds per contest.

Junior Michael Dixon is a 6’1 guard who puts in 12.6 points of his own, while assisting 3.1. He also shoots almost 90% from the foul line.

Flip Pressey is the young gun on the team. He is merely a sophomore and scores 10 PPG on 31.4 minutes per game. He also grabs 3.2 boards per game, and 2.1 steals per game.

Mizzou is a veteran team which will hurt them in the future. However, we are just looking at this season and if they can win the Big 12 (assuming they can beat Kansas) then I think they can get the #1 seed. I just think Kansas is a better team overall, even though their record does not show it. They are both 12-2 in the conference.

Mardi Gras Upsets

Posted on February 22, 2012 by christoph131

#3 Missouri was upset by unranked Kansas State for the second time this season. This will make my blog about Mizzou a little more difficult later on. They lost 78-68. Rodney McGruder dropped 24 points against the Tigers. Michael Dixon was able to put in 21 points off the bench, and star Marcus Denmon added 19 of his own in the losing effort. Ricardo Ratliffe had 14 rebounds but missed the double-double by 1 point.

#8 Georgetown was also upset, but they lost against unranked Seton Hall who they should beat every day. Senior Jordan Theodore scored 29 points for the Pirates. He shot a perfect 5-for-5 from behind the arc. Not one player on the Hoyas scored in double digits in any column (points, assists, rebounds). Seton Hall 61% from the field, 61.5% from 3-point range, and 78.9% from the free throw line. Georgetown only recorded 9 assists as a team.

Newly ranked #21 New Mexico was upset by rival Colorado State 71-63. Key players for the Rams were Pierce Hornung (13 pts, 5 rebs) & Dorian Green (17 pts, 8-8 ft). New Mexico’s Kendall Williams (16 pts) & Demetrius Walker (14 pts) each had good games.

Is Avery Bradley the Key to the Game? Celtics-Thunder Preview

Posted on February 22, 2012 by leibo4

In the Celtics (15-16) last game before the All-Star Break they face off against the Oklahoma City Thunder (25-7) and former teammate Kendrick Perkins. Rajon Rondo will not be able to play against his good friend as he will be serving the second game of his two game suspension for throwing the basketball at the referee. The two teams are heading in different directions as the Celtics have lost 6 of their last 7 and their last 4 in a row. The Thunder have won their last three games and are 9-3 in the month of February. The Celtics are also 4-8 on the road while the Thunder are 13-1 at home.

The Celtics will hopefully get Kevin Garnett back as he has missed the last two games due to a family matter. The Celtics are extremely weak at the power forward position if he doesn’t play as Jermaine O’Neal and Chris Wilcox are both day to day from injuries against the Mavs and Brandon Bass is out until after All Star break. The Celtics will have to rely heavily on Jajuan Johnson and Greg Stiemsma as they are the only two power forwards or centers on the roster.

The Thunder are just two games removed from what I can remember as one of the most ridiculous statlines a trio of NBA players has ever produced

Player	Points	Rebounds	Assists	Blocks	Steals
Kevin Durant	51	8	3	0	4
Russell Westbrook	40	4	9	1	0
Serge Ibaka	14	15	0	11	1

These three bring back memories of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman. While they have accomplished nothing yet, they are look very tough to beat this year and will pose a big problem for the Celtics

Keys to the Game

Get out and Run

The Celtics may or may not have any one of the three big man listed day to day. But if they do, and more importantly if they don’t, they need to get into the open floor and get some easy baskets. The team is struggling in its half court sets and getting easy baskets allows the defense to set up and do its job.

Get some Penetration

Other than Pierce and Ray last game the Celtics were settling for a lot of jumpers. The offense was stagnant and the ball was not moving crisply. It’s tough to get open shots when your not making the defense work.

Cut down on Turnovers

Paul has been trying to take over the game and its nice to see, but his 10 turnovers in the past two games is hard to swallow. The Celtics have to take care of the ball and it starts with The Truth. The Celtics are too good of a defensive team to be giving up so many easy buckets off of turnovers.

Avery Bradley

Finally, my man Avery came out strong in the first quarter last night, looking for his shot and actually hitting it. If he can show he has a consistent jumper, it will open up the floor for the rest of the Celtics shooters and allow him to penetrate and create. No one is really concerned by his defense, we all know Avery D’s up!

Milan Lucic vs. Shawn Thornton

Posted on February 21, 2012 by jtulz07

Having cooled off lately, the Bruins can at least be satisfied to have the NHL’s Toughest Man on their team, Milan Lucic. But what about Shawn Thornton? Does that mean they have the TWO toughest players in the NHL? I mean I wouldn’t want to go up against either but if you had to choose one, who would you rather drop the gloves with? Lucic or Thornton?

Lucic

Thornton

Patriots Offseason: Offensive Line

Posted on February 21, 2012 by davecouture

The Patriots offensive line certainly was not a concern last season and I don’t see it being a primary concern this offseason. The only position that will be addressed should be the center position. Dan Koppen and his backup/utility man Dan Connolly will be free agents this offseason and although neither should be very expensive signings, both could potentially end up elsewhere. If healthy Koppen is certainly a quality center but there are certainly other options the Pats may consider. Connolly seems to be a great fit in the Patriots offensive line because of his versatility to play both guard positions as well as center. Heck, the guy can even return a kick when called upon. Most people, as well as myself saw Brian Waters as a one-year average fill in but after his pro-bowl season last year it looks like he will be back for another year. With Logan Mankins and Waters in the guard positions the Pats are as solid as it comes there. The tackle situation looks very promising as well. Matt Light looks like he still has some left in the tank and with the combination of Sebastian Vollmer and Nate Solder on the opposite side the Pats look pretty solid up front. The Patriots also have Marcus Cannon in the waiting, Cannon is a huge presence on the line standing at 6’5” and weighing 358. Overall the Patriots offensive line should be very solid. If Koppen walks and the Pats are not content with Connolly as their starting center they will definitely have a few possible options.

Jeff Saturday: Even with Saturday playing for the enemy for many years he still praised Patriots owner Bob Kraft and credited him by saying the lockout could not have ended without the help of Kraft. Saturday is a class act and a Patriots type of guy. Rumor has it Saturday is mulling retirement, but if he opts to remain in the league I would imagine he wouldn’t be a piece to the Colts rebuilding process. Saturday is a quality center and could be a solid fit for the Pats at a reasonably low-cost.

Matt Birk: A veteran center that could come in and be a leader on the offensive line at a low-cost.

Sox Recieve Chris Carpenter in Return for Theo

Posted on February 21, 2012 by TOB$

Tuck it in Red Sox nation, not this Chris Carpenter.

Today, the Red Sox finally received some compensation for Theo leaving to go to the Cubbies. We received 26 year old righthander Chris Carpenter. Carpenter is a 6’4″ former third round pick that has spent the majority of his time in the minors as a starting pitcher. He had Tommy John surgery his freshman year at Kent State and had another elbow procedure his sophomore year. His medical history scared off a lot of teams on draft day and that is mostly why he dropped to the Cubs in the third round.He has consistently been ranked as one of the top 10-15 prospects in the Cubs farm, but has had control issues that have kept him from reaching the big leagues. Carpenter projects to be better suited out of the bullpen in the major leagues due to his pitching repertoire. He has a mid-upper 90’s fastball that can top out in triple digits. Although there isn’t much movement on his pitch, his height still makes a fastball coming at that speed difficult to handle for batters. Carpenter also has a solid slider, but frequently has trouble controlling it. Unless he can develop better secondary pitches, Carpenter won’t be much more than a 7th or 8th inning guy in the big leagues. In 10 major league appearances last year, Carpenter had a solid ERA (2.79), but allowed nearly 2 baserunners per inning.

I’m looking forward to see how Carpenter can develop in our farm system and hopefully get a shot in the majors this year. The key to him being successful this year is not working on developing a third pitch, but instead ensuring control of his fastball and slider and limit his walks (7 BB in 9.2 innings in the majors last year).I’m just glad to see we got some sort of compensation for Theo leaving as I really think the Sox butchered this one. I think they lost all power when they let Theo go before they had any compensation.

March Madness Preview Day 2

Posted on February 21, 2012 by christoph131

Kentucky | Syracuse |

#2 Syracuse

Remaining opponents: South Florida, UConn, #17 Louisville

Prediction: They should be able to handle the first two with ease, just as they have throughout the season. They already beat the Huskies by 18 points a few weeks back. Their toughest competition is going to be Louisville, who they beat by 1 point last week, and could have easily lost if Louisville didn’t turn the ball over with 2 seconds left. However, this time, the Orange are home. Marquette is 2^nd in the Big East, sitting two games behind Syracuse so they should have a number one seed when playoff time comes around.

Senior Kris Joseph (from Canada?) is averaging exactly 14.0 PPG and 4.8 RPG. He is 6”7 and uses his length to his advantage. He also averages 30.9 minutes per game which is the most on the team by far. The next closes is C.J. Fair at 26.9.

Sophomore Dion Waiters throws in 12.0 PPG himself, and adds 2.2 RPG and 2.7 APG to go along with it. Plus, he only plays 23.6 minutes per game.

Junior Brandon Triche is a 6”4 Guard who scores 9.4 PPG and shoots 86% from the free throw line.

Sophomore C.J. Fair is a 6”8 Forward from Baltimore that puts in 9.2 PPG, 5.5 RPG and is second in minutes per game with 26.9.

Senior Scoop Jardine adds 8.7 PPG and 5 assists per game.

Fab Melo, the 7 footer from Brazil, adds 7.9 PPG and 5.5 RPG to the Orange’s artillery.

They are a strong team that knows how to win games. I see them as a sure-fire #1 seed when Selection Sunday comes. Their only loss came against Notre Dame, exactly a month ago today. Notre Dame has also beaten teams such as Marquette and Louisville.

Celtics-Mavericks Recap

Posted on February 21, 2012 by leibo4

The Celtics lost their fourth straight game last night to the Mavericks in a game that was never really close. Without Kevin Garnett the Celtics had no defensive answer for Dirk Nowitzki as he went for 21 first half points and cruised to a 26-16 night in only 31 minutes on the floor. The Mavericks were up by as much as 26 in the game.

Rajon Rondo was suspended by the NBA for the Celtics final two games before the All-Star break for his altercation with a referee. Without Rondo, the Celtics looked lost on offense and having a tough time to truly find a way to play. Other than Avery Bradley in the first quarter the Celtics only scored 9 points. Avery and Paul were the only two Celtics to score in the first 8 minutes of the game.

The Celtics tough season with injuries continued as both Jermaine O’Neal and Chris Wilcox went out with minor injuries in the third quarter. The turnovers were again a major issue for the Celtics as they turned over the ball 17 times. It ended up turning in 25 Maverick’s points. Both Pierce and Ray continued to struggle shooting from three combining for a 2-8 night from beyond the arc. But they both attacked the rim in ways that we haven’t seen from either of them this season. With no real interior scoring presence tonight most of the Celtics 18 points in the paint came off of Paul and Ray’s ability to attack the hoop.

The Celtics look to end their losing streak Wednesday at 7:00pm against the Thunder.

Extra Notes:

Kevin Garnett missed his second straight game for personal reasons; Dirk past Robert Parish to become number 20 on the all time scoring list; Garnett is 19 on the list; Jason Kidd had three steals to pass Michael Jordan as second on the all time list; in a battle of whose leg’s have deteriorated more Vince Carter got rejected by Jermaine O’Neal on a fast break early in the game, hard to imagine that happening to Vincesanity in his prime.

Avery Bradley Alert

Avery Bradley was a bright spot for the Celtics hitting outside jumpers when the Mavericks were giving him room. Finished 6-11 for the night but he missed a few bunny lay-ups; picked the pocket of future hall of famer Jason Kidd. He scored 6 out of the first 8 points for the Celtics and was basically the entire offense in the first quarter.

Much Needed All-Star Break

Posted on February 21, 2012 by jtulz07

After a stretch of wins starting in late January where the C’s won 10 of 12 contests, capped with a big win at home vs. Chicago last week, things have began to fall apart in Boston. The Celtics found themselves spiraling downhill in the past week, losing four straight as of last night against the Mavs. Whenever things start to look up, the cards just seem to stack up against the C’s. As if losing Brandon Bass to a knee injury and KG to family issues wasn’t enough, the Celts lost Rondo for last night’s matchup and Wednesday’s due to a two game suspension. Adding insult to injury, literally, Jermaine O’Neal and Chris Wilcox both left the game in the third last night with injuries. Don’t get me wrong, I love my boy Stiemsma, but unfortunately I don’t see him being the X-factor in the paint for the C’s, at least not yet. I think it’s safe to say no one needs the All-Star break to come sooner than the Celts. A week off from play after Wednesday’s game vs. the Thunder is just what the team needs to regroup and get back to their winning ways.