The sounds from the rafters: A look at the dying art of radio play by play coverage in hockey

Back when dinosaurs battled cavemen and unicorns roamed the earth, there was no TV, there were no sports bars and yet there still were sports. In those days, the only way you watched these gripping competitions was either in person or via that trusty radio set on your bedside table. Back then sports meant something and games seemed to carry a great unifying aspect of entertainment where the blaring sound of a radio personality echoed upliftingly throughout a home. People knew the names of their favorite announcers like they did presidents and followed their sports just as religiously as they do today. But, there is one difference between 20th century hockey coverage and that of the present day.

Back then, the focus was on the words.  Today, the focus is on the visual. So what changed?

As we focus on the radio component of the sport of professional hockey, the relationship between the two has always been a close one. The NHL was formed back in 1917 and to that point consisted of 6 teams spanning 6 cities and a wide variety of fan interest. In towns like Toronto or the Canadian metropolis, Montreal, their teams were immediately accepted as shown by the presence of fans packing into arenas and even more rushing to their local papers following games the scores of which they were desperate to find. However, once you crossed the border, one found that teams like the Bruins were all but broke. They won just 6 games in their inaugural season and were only granted thick wool grocery store uniforms as clothing for use in games. Meanwhile, the NHL who was already looking ahead towards a plan to increase league size to 12 teams knew that in order for that to happen they needed to boost fan interest in their existing 6 teams (Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadians, Boston Bruins, Detroit Redwings, New York Rangers).

But back to Boston where, like the NHL, B's incumbent owner, Charles Adams was in a bit of  trouble. Desperate for funds that were needed in order to bring in then fabled names like goaltender Tiny Thompson, Adams suddenly realized he had made a promise he might not be able to uphold. Prior to the 1928 season, he in collaboration with a team clamoring for the morale booster of a full sized arena, constructed what was immediately dubbed the Boston Garden.  But unfortunately for Adams, a 13,000 seat arena came at a price and a price that he was forced to convince investors to pay.

By the end of the day, Adams and company forked over the equivalent to 54.4 million modern day dollars and the only way there were able to do so was via Adams’ promise.

He insisted that within the first 5 years of the Boston Garden’s operation, the corporation would make 500,000 1928 dollars. When you factor in inflation, it is clear that that is a lot of money.

To skip ahead in time, it is important to mention that the Bruins did not miss the playoffs within that 5 year span thereby meeting that 500,000$ profit with the utmost ease. However there was a problem. They only way the Bruins were making money was by winning the Stanley Cup literally every year and that kind of excellence, no matter how stacked a team is simply cannot be sustained.

What Adams and the NHL as a whole needed was a way to involve more fans than the 10,000-15,000 who were lucky enough to make it into an arena to see a game live. That way came in the form of the radio broadcast, less than 10 years after Adam's golden arena was completed. But sadly for Bruins fans, these advancements were baby steps towards the level of broadcasting consistency that we enjoy today. For over 3 decades, all Bruins fans got was a spotty, out of range broadcast of Canada's Hockey Night in Canada that was only transmitted to the US when a US team was playing a Canadian team on a Saturday night. Furthermore, CBC, the company who operated these broadcasts, alternated between French and English every week. For example, Bruins fans got just 11 Hockey Night in Canada broadcasts that were in English and were transmitted to the area in the first 15 years of play by play history.  

It would take almost 80 additional years before Bruins regular season games were picked up to be broadcast on a regular basis and by then, Charlie Adams was dead, the Bruins had found their cash cows in Bobby Orr and then Ray Borque, and the need for radio coverage had been overcome. This time, the odds were pitted not against the Bruins but instead against the radio coverage that in the United States had never had its time in the limelight. 

By the time WEEI made its first broadcast of a Bruins game back in 1985, NESN was also getting at it and they had a huge advantage. While WEEI analysts employed radio as their outlet for sharing their accounts of the game, NESN or The New England Sports Network as its acronym states uses TV and you can guess who wins that battle. 

Fact is, TV is far more encompassing than radio, forcing you to simply sit there and watch while doing nothing else for fear of missing a piece of the action. In comparison to radio, television uses 2 of the human senses to convey information and for that reason it is safe to say that when watching a game the information contained within the broadcast is often represented better than that same information conveyed via words from a radio.

But what is unique about hockey as a radio sport is the speed and chaotic existence for which it is centered around. Players whizz up and down a 200 foot rink at speeds of up to 30 MPH covering such a distance in mere seconds. Players switch shifts with an incomprehensible jumble of bodies around a bench area while at the same time the miniscule puck skitters wildly away from any who try to tame it. Plays last just seconds, rebounds are scooped up by any and all within sight and when players really want to, their passes and clearing attempts can often eclipse 75 to 80 miles per hour. The play can literally go from one end of the ice to the other in less than 2 seconds.

"You might see something for a split second but then it is closed up” Radio personality Bob Beers said during last week’s Friday Matinee between the Bruins and Rangers. “That’s when you can see really how fast this game is."

Now you try to describe all that.

TV announcers like beloved Jack Edwards have the luxury of allowing fans to see for themselves what goes on all while they elaborate on their calls of the last play that however recent may have occurred 200 feet away with totally different players than are contributing to the current one. 

In radio, that just does not work. To do well in the business you must speak with a majestic combination of the speed of an auctioneer and the fluidity of a political figure all while keeping your descriptions brief and elaborate at the same time.

Elaborate? One might ask. Well, elaborate might not even be the right word to describe such drama. Artistic maybe?

Those something’s (scraps behind the play, gaps in an opponent’s defense, a player yapping at a referee) that Bob Beers referenced earlier can often cease to exist long before many of us could even register it within our minds. This is where the art and skill come in. For Bruins radio play by play analyst, Dave Goucher, he can make note of pieces of a play far faster than any novice sports fan can and then describe them with utmost elegance so that we feel more than like we are right there. 

When you watch a game on TV you lose that kind of unfiltered, precise interpretation of the finite facets of the game but that is not all.   

As ticket prices skyrocket into triple digit values, it seems like more of a robbery for arenas as well as their tenants to request such a whopping sum of money in exchange for admission to the main event. But not entirely because of the price. This kind of distaste is powerfully bread by the modernized facets of televised hockey. Staying at home gives you a better view of the game than watching live as most outlets now carry obscene amounts of instant replay, intense analysis during intermissions and above all, the ability to watch the game and then go to sleep when the contest ends at 11:30 at night. 

That last part can be said about radio as well but when you think it out, listening to a game rather than watching it preserves the magic of seeing one live, largely because of those limitations that many despise.

Unfortunately for most hockey venues, the advertising slogan used by countless cable providers is in fact true. “The best seat in the house is your house!” Throughout the early histories of almost all major modern sports, you were treated to a more comprehensive experience when you saw a game in person. But now, the roles have been flipped.

That is one of the worst deeds television coverage has done to harm its sport.

But there are those little things, little things like the yellow first down and blue line of scrimmage markings on a football broadcast. When watching a game live you are treated to a constant representation of the score, the game time and in most cases, any penalties assessed to a team all shown via a massive scoreboard that often hangs over the center of the rink. The same can be said for TV broadcasts as for over 3 decades now, an innovation labeled in history as “The Fox Box” (named thusly for its creator Fox Sports) has been hockey’s first down line and yet another leg that TV has up on the interworking’s of a radio broadcast. 

Furthermore, radio’s lack of a visual display of the score, the game time or any like information brings the story back to the list of obstacles radio commentators face that TV analysts simply do not have to deal with. Once again it is the theme that runs true throughout the entire radio play by play business. Convey more information in the same amount of time.  

Radio is simple. It relies on one sense, hearing, and does not deal with the visual complexity that television does. Radio costs less to be produced and is free to all who can snag a set. The ease at which radio is accessed is largely because of that simplicity as well the fact that demand for it is miniscule compared to that of television that obviously offers so much more than its competition. With this in mind I guarantee you that if I walked down the street with a radio set in one hand and a flat screen TV in the other and offered both of them to a passerby, the radio would be instantaneously discarded while the TV would be cradled like a baby as that lucky passerby ran off with his or her newfound loot. 

Now it is expected that that metaphor be met with a bit of questioning. Honestly it is the TV that costs 400$ and it fought to the death over on Black Friday while a radio could easily go for less than 25$ and comes standard in almost every single car built in the past 15-20 years. TV’s cost more than radios because people regard them as more entertaining but I ask you this. Does that entertainment factor directly translate to the skill and or the complexity/quality that a certain form of media necessitates?

To sum up, it is easier to describe a picture when the person you are describing it to can see that picture at the same time. That is what TV commentary is like while radio is like describing the picture to a person with a blindfold on.

Radio is artistic. 

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Bruins blown out by Redwings: Why this loss may serve as a welcome wake up call to the team

The look on Matt Bartowski's face (number 43 on the top right corner of the above picture) just about says all that needs to be said about last night's game. 

The Bruins did not want to lose the game but instead of getting involved in the play and going back to basics, they sat there as bystanders, hanging their goaltender out to dry and as a result walking out of the Joe Louis Arena last night victims of their largest loss of the season and their first 5 goal loss since March 13th, 2012. A total of 115 games. 

A 6-1 score is either a really good thing or a really bad thing and after last night's dismantling by the Redwings, we know for sure that in this case, 6-1 is a bad thing. 

"It was pretty much everything we didn’t want to see out there." Patrice Bergeron said of his team that shot the puck just 17 times. "We didn’t execute. Yeah, they played a good game but we pretty much handed it out to them," he proceeded to say. "No disrespect to them but it wasn’t even close to playing our game, it wasn’t even close to executing. We left Tuuks out to dry most of the night and you definitely can’t win playing like that." 

For Boston, the trouble started early on when the Redwings, who despite losing the early physical battle spent most of the opening period in the Bruins zone. These neutral zone deficiencies within the Bruins game were pounced upon when Detroit scored their first goal of the night. 

After Johan Franzen took a mid-frame high sticking penalty, the Bruins dominated the ensuing power play only to forget the man coming out of the box thus leaving no one back to defend the Boston net. The Bruins were at a standstill as 3 Wings came charging into the crease and the puck soon ended up behind Tuukka Rask.  For fans, the confusion and anger at the Bruins incompetency when defending was only amplified as the game went on and the Wings proceeded to pound in 3 quick goals in the second period. 

"That’s why I called a timeout," Claude Jullian said of his decision to call his lone timeout following the 3rd of those quick goals. "What I saw from our team was all of the sudden we started to really get away from our game and everybody was trying to do everybody else’s job and when you get to that stage, it just gets worse...Everything we did tonight was just disastrous. We dominated on face-offs, that’s a positive, but I think the rest, from the back end to the front end…We just didn’t generate much." 

In truth, it took the Bruins all of 58 minutes of game action to generate their first goal, one scored with just over 2 minutes to go in the game that did a little to boost morale more than anything else. 

As it stood, the Bruins were being shut out until Jarome Iginla potted his 5th goal of the season following a nice play down in the Bruins defensive zone that had failed them all night long. Iginla took it himself from the mid-line and charged ferociously through the neutral zone before banking the puck off of Jonas Gustuffson and then potting his own rebound via a sliding flick that just managed to thread itself along the inside of the post.  

It was not pretty but you have to give them points for never giving up. They tried to score, and they did but in a more crucial facet of last night loosing like this can often help a team more than it can hinder them. Call it humiliating, call it simply loosing but so long as you do not fall into a prolonged slump losses like this, however unpleasant serve as wake up calls.  

Well, wakeup call felt. 

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Fumbling Around: A look at how we stand on the situation of ball control with Stephan Ridley

As is true throughout the sports world, football fans have short memories. 

They do not remember what happened last year, they remember what is happening THIS year and on a more distinct note, they do not remember what happened in week one, they remember what happened LAST week. That truth is rather unfortunate for 24 year old Patriots running back, Stephan Ridley who has fumbled 3 times in the last 3 weeks and has been benched following each turnover.   

Following his most recent fumble, the 4th of his 2013 season, any sliver of fan respect for Ridley's successful 2012 was lost only to be replaced by a constant calling for the 3rd year back to simply get out of town. 

“For me, it’s almost disgusting, man,” he said in the locker room after the fumble that caused him to leave the game and then violently spike his helmet on the sideline. “Consecutive weeks. Personally, as a player, my team deserves better. I come in, I work, bust my a-- every day. To come in and have the same mistakes happen, there’s something I gotta do different, I gotta do better. As a competitor all I can do is come in here and keep working. ... I just gotta be there for the team when they call me.” 

By comparison, Ridely's 4 fumbles lost in 2013 are twice those accumulated by Minnesota Vikings star Adrian Peterson and 3 more than league rushing leader: LeSean McCoy. It is no doubt about the fact that when he can lock the ball tight against his chest and run around with it, Ridley's proficiency in bouncing off of outside tackles sure makes him top back material. He rushed for 1,147 yards on 249 carries during his final year at LSU and then hit the 1,000 yard mark 2 years later in the NFL when in 2012, he stormed past defenders to rush for 1,263 yards and 12 touchdowns on 290 carries.   

He has potential but the fumbles are tough. He has been benched following each fumble this season and although his most recent mistake was the first one that pulled him from the entire game, he was benched for a full half in Week 1, and then pulled out for the better part of a quarter in Weeks 8 and 9. Furthermore, in games like these in addition to ones following those in which Ridely has fumbled, he has seen the number of chances he gets deccrese even when he is on the field.  

He is getting benched as well as losing his teammates trust. Double trouble. 

“When I put the ball on the ground, they have no option but they take me out. It’s sickening, man,” Ridley said. “I’m frustrated, but it’s part of the game. I think that as a player, you’re going to have your ups and your downs, but the main thing is you have to stay focused and keep your eye on the prize at the end of the day. I’m not going to get too far down. I’m going to put more pressure on myself to go out there and practice and change up some things. I can't keep doing this.” 

But as was said earlier, he may be running out of time. Last season Stephan Ridely averaged just over 18 carries per game while just 1 season later, his benchings and decreeing trustworthiness has dropped his average down to 13.5. That does not seem like much but when you factor it in, guys like Ridely often average close to 5 yards per carry tacking away 5 such runs drops their game rushing totals by close to 25 yards. This has been evident this season and even more so in the past few weeks as his snap totals have gone down steadily from 26 in Week 8, to 13 in Week 9 and then an abysmal 4 back on Sunday against the Broncos.  

However what seems to be the worst aspect of this all for Ridley is the fact that his absence from the field has not been missed especially with the recent re addition of Shane Vereen to the rushing core. He in collaboration with Brandon Boulden took over the entire rushing attack last week combining for 21 attempted ground plays and 9 additional targets through the air.  

Since the middle of last year, he has really emerged and developed into that role,” Tom Brady said of his budding new rusher Vereen following Week 9's Monday Night Game with the Panthers. “I think the best part is he really understands the importance and magnitude of that role and takes a lot of pride in it. It’s a hugely important part of our offense.” 

Now more than ever, it seems that it is Vereen's turn to take over. Stephan Ridley is a great running back, and a powerful athlete but  when you look at the stats the big 4 spot in the fumbles column makes you cringe and makes Bill Belichick angry. Ridely says he thinks it is disgusting and will continue to work as hard as he can to stop the fumbling  but as it stands he might not get that opportunity. 

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The promise of ROW: Why the Bruins are still finding a way to boost their numbers in the NHL's primary tiebreaker

Rarely does a single statistic hold the game changing power that the newly created "ROW Column" does. 

Born out of the stagnant days of the 2004-2005 NHL lockout, this single statistic remains one of the lone bright-spots among some of the NHL's darkest days as well as being the one undisputed change among a revamped 2005 rule book that included  the instigation of the shootout, the "shooting the puck over the glass" penalty and many others. Fact is, with a whole year without hockey, fans had a long time to think about the game they loved and for that reason nearly everything that came out of that work stoppage has been heavily scrutinized and in some cases unfairly judged. Such was not the case with the enigma that is the penalty shootout. 

To this day, the shootout sits right beside fighting as the most controversial part of a hockey game soliciting Tuukka Tantrums and fulfilling feeling following wins league wide.  There is no doubt about the fact that fans love shootouts but as the same time it is also no secret that most NHL players feel the absolute opposite. Never before has there been such a divide in opinions between players and fans and yet as support for the shootout begins to dwindle, the Tuukka Tantrums return and the Bruins respond by valiantly staving off the shootout their goalie hates so much a slight sliver of attention now turns to the ROW statistic that has been here all along.  

As it is officially defined, ROW is classified as the number of regulation or overtime wins a team accrues over the course of the season. To rephrase that, ROW is the teams regular season victories minus those achieved via the shootout. It is that last part that is in the very center of ROW's sheer purpose.  

"I F*****G hate [shootouts]" Tuukka Rask said but sadly, that thought is not shared among NHL teams and it has been proven that when ROW is no longer a factor many mediocre teams are fully contempt with playing for overtime and in turn the shootout in turn earning 1 out of 2 available points even if they end up on the wrong side of the post-game final.  

What ROW does is forces teams to play until the buzzer and all someone needs to do to see an example of this is to look at the very Bruins who many of us so rabidly follow. Back on October 24th, the Bruins saw what might be the most thrilling moment of their season when, with the game tied late in the 3rd, David Krejci beat the clock and won the game with just .8 seconds left on the clock.  

Goals like this are fun but for teams they come in the form of a serious gamble. When you have the puck in the final seconds of the game it is much easier to just old the puck behind the net rather than force it up into the opponents zone where there will be a whole host of defenders just waiting to take the puck off your stick and win the game. But on October 24th Krejci cast that all aside and upon his tipping the puck into the net he proved the full beneficial intent of ROW.  

But there it more to the story and it lies within the 5 minutes between the conclusion of the 3rd period and the beginning of the shootout. Close to 95% of a team’s ROW wins are obviously accumulated via regulation but for the Bruins, they have already nabbed 3 out of their 15 ROW wins in overtime rather than regulation. In the last 2 of those 3 wins, the Bruins have assaulted their opponents with a Bill Belicheck esque therom for aggressive winning.  

In each of their last 2 games, the contest has necessitated extra time and in both of them, Claude Jullian has ran a 3 forwards, 1 defender form of offence and in Monday's game especially, that strategy paid huge dividends.  

Torey Krug scored just 34 seconds into overtime and yet afterwards there were no Tuukka Tantrums. Instead he was down to earth, cool headed and simply reveling in the glory of just one more ROW win. 

"We went out in overtime and took the puck to their zone and then scored a goal I think that's the sign of a good team that you don't get down on yourself after a goal like that." He said. 

The shootout is a question without no definitive answer but especially in a town riddled with the hated our players harbor of the game ending method, the assistance of ROW helps provide a slight motivation for teams not to settle. When you are talking about pro sports it seems silly to talk about how motivation must be infused into a game and yet the ROW statistic does just that and still does not seem the slightest bit trivial. 

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Saving the best for last: Tom Brady and Peyton Manning put on thriller as both their careers come to a close

It was cold, almost Siberian cold. The air was uneasy, jolting around and carrying anything with it as if the wind itself was like a powerful arm flicking away anything that tried to test its power. However, amidst these single digit temperatures and strong winds, a glowing metropolis of its own casts a bright tower of light into the sky above Foxborough Massachusetts. This piece of infrastructure, known throughout its days as any number of different names is the economic center of nearly every piece of Massachusetts land south of it’s capital and yet it is not even the biggest cash cow that calls Gillette Stadium home. 

On Sunday night, one man who has played his best in the cold was at it again, facing off against the only human being who can statistically match his skillful prows.  

14 times now these two have faced off, 14 games all of which have their own unique stories. In Brady vs. Manning 1 the theme was this. An already recognized starter in Peyton Manning coming to town prepared to face a man who was making just his first start of his career following Drew Beldsoe's near lethal injury suffered against the Jets that opened the door for his backup. To that point, Tom Brady had thrown just 13 career passes as an NFL quarterback while Peyton Manning had already racked up back to back 4,000 yard passing seasons as well as making 2 Pro Bowl teams and yet by the end of the night it was Brady who led his team to victory and won the first game in one of the most storied individual rivalries in NFL history. 

4 years later in meeting number 3, Brady was shining once again hurling 3 TD's and 335 passing yards on his way to a 27-24 win that improved his career win loss record against Manning to a stellar 3-0. By that point, there was no doubt how skilled this 4th year stud from New England was. The 3 Super Bowl rings symbolized all that necessitated recognition. Before long, Tom Brady was 7-0 against Manning and his always contending Colts. Furthermore, while Peyton spent his time polishing his MVP awards, Tom Brady was a more weekly kind of guy racking up the wins and of course, winning 3 Super Bowls in 4 seasons.   

However in the 2006 Conference Championship that pitted Mr. postseason: Brady against Mr. MVP: Manning, the tables turned. In Peyton's lone successful postseason run, the Colt star stormed past the Patriots and halted Brady's bid for his 4th Lombardi Trophy.  

"I said a little prayer there on that last drive," Manning said of his game winning touchdown drive that propelled the 38-34 last second win. "I don't know if you're supposed to pray or not in those kinds of situations, but I did." 

Prayer answered. 

From that day onward, Manning and Brady were pitted against each other on a near annual basis.as for football fans removed from the bias of the fabled rivalry there truly was no answer to the question was answered every single time prior to such a game. Who is the better quarterback? Tom or Peyton? 

This was the legacy that led these two champions through New England victories in 2007, 2010, 2011 and then 2012 as well as a change of scenery for Manning and yet, the essence of each of these games stayed true to those that came before them.

This was the legacy that led those two champions down the path to greatness and while the two were both reaching into their upper 30's we braved the cold and watched what might go down as the last great meeting between two of the best. It did not disappoint. 

After 4 first quarter fumbles, one of which might have effectively ended Stephan Ridley's career as a Patriot, New England stumbled into the half facing their largest deficit of the season. It was 24-0 Denver, and Manning had thrown just 1 TD pass. The first half of the Week 11 edition of Sunday Night Football, was one of gifts by the Patriots and luck by the Broncos. Manning was never good in this game fighting the stinging cold and rarely even attempting a pass. In the end it was the passing game that for the first time this season actually cost Denver the game.  

Brady and the Patriots came out of the gates in the second half fuming. They charged up the field to score just 3:39 into the quarter and then quickly followed up with back to back quick drives that in the blink of an eye erased and even topped what Denver did in the first half. New England scored 21 points in the 3rd quarter and then even took the lead as they continued their torrent pace early in the 4th quarter. 

As the game fell late into overtime it became clear that while Tom Brady was the reason the game was tied it was his 61 year old best friend who was the reason they won it. 

"The wind, it was a strong wind," Bill Belichick said in an explanation for why he deferred the ball after winning the coin toss prior to OT. "We just had to keep them out of the end zone, obviously. I just felt like the wind would be an advantage if we could keep them out of the end zone on that first drive. We were able to do that. The wind was significant in the game, it was definitely significant."  

New England did keep Denver out of the end-zone in that first drive but after they went 3 and out on the next drive, Ryan Allen came on to punt. Once again the Broncos played the role of Santa Claus via their delivery of a mighty gift that in the end, gave the Patriots the win. 

Following a booming punt, nothing seemed to go awry until the ball was literally feet from the ground. Manning who watched his teammate Tony Carter inadvertently poke the falling ball with the tip of his fingers seemed broken while the Patriots pounced on the muffed punt that gave them back the ball at the Denver 13 yard line. 

From there, the game was all but won, Stephan Goskowski kicked the game winning chip shot field goal bing-bang-boom, game salvaged. 

Whatever you call it, the beginning of the end of this great rivalry gave us the greatest win the rivalry has ever seen. It was not perfect, there were fumbles, there were interceptions and there were badly thrown balls but in the end none of that matters. Why? Because as has been repeated throughout the sports world
"they don't ask how, they ask how many" and when you look into the numbers, the 60,000 passing yards of Peyton Manning shows that he wins on the luster of his game while Tom Brady just wins period.  

You tell me who it better. Tom? Yeah, that sounds right. 

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NO I WANT TO WIN: A look back at when Bostonian competition gets a little heated

Professional freak-outs can be solicited by two underlying factors: failure or unthinkable sucsess. Boston sports often deal with the latter of those two reasons and it is the competition combined with those high expectations that make every play matter and when every play matters, there can sometimes be some disagreements.  

Below are 5 of the best "disagreements" in recent Boston history.

Note: A collection of phones, sticks and other various equipment were harmed in the makings of these videos.

2013 - The Phone

After a questionable strike call that eventually led to David Ortiz's striking out, the Red Sox DH completely lost it massacring a dugout phone before returning to the field to have a little chat with the home plate umpire. 

"Don't take my at bat away!" he said.



2011 - Tom Brady and Bill O'Brian go at it

After Tom Brady threw a weak interception in the end zone he was not exactly ready to shoulder all the blame. Upon returning to the bench, he and then Patriots offensive coordinator began to go at it with viscios anger. As the scuffle intensified O'Brian was soon forcibly removed from the situation by Bill Belicheck himself all while remaining heated for the better part of the next few minutes of the game.




2009 - Tuukka being Tuukka, Part 1

Throughout his career, it has been no secret that Tuukka Rask hates loosing in the shootout. Furthermore, it is a rare occasion when the stick Tuukka uses during such a loss escapes the ice unscathed. Following a March 2009 AHL game, the story was the same as a 21 year old Rask flipped out following 2 bad goal calls and the proceeded to smash his stick, assault the boards and then hurl a milk crate full of pucks back onto the ice. And yet, even through all this, Tuukka was just being Tuukka.



2013 - Koji slaps Shane Victorino

Koji Uehara is a character. He seeks very little English and weighs all but 195 points and yet the camaraderie he cultivates within his dugout is most nearly tangible. Sort of. Midway through the 2013 Red Sox season, Koji who had just closed out a close win for Boston came storming back into the dugout bent on delivering his patented high fives. Shane Victorino however was not ready but regardless of that, Koji was not waiting and so in an action that threw a rather surprised look onto the left fielders face he slapped him on the arm. Shane was back to normal mere seconds later smiling as Koji proceeded to high five some more prepared teammates.



 2013 - Tuukka Rask in angry Part 2

Frankly the on ice show, Tuukka put on mere days ago was not the reason this meltdown cracks the list of the top freak-outs in recent history. No, it was what was said when reporters tracked him down later on in the clubhouse that made you laugh.

"I don't f****g want it" Tuukka said when asked about the existence of the NHL shootout. "I'd gas it right away"

Furthermore, Claude Jullian finally acknowledged that Rask did evetually snap the stick he could no break during his on ice show.

“That’s his personality. He had a new stick in his hands today and I think he finally destroyed the other one after a few tries. I’m just doing the same thing as you guys; I’m laughing it off. It’s just a frustrated goaltender that really takes a lot of pride in winning games. No matter what he does, if he feels he didn’t pull his load, he’s going to be like that.”

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Tuukka Rask hates loosing: Bruins goalie goes bezerk following Thursday's shootout loss to St Louis

"I'd probably be laughing right now if we won, right? But it sucks when you lose it," he said. "I just hate, especially when you can't stop the puck. That's the worst feeling." Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask said in a verbal reiteration of his end of game fit Thursday night in Boston. "I'd gas it right away. Midseason, take it away," he then said of the entire existence of the shootout. "I don't [expletive] want it."

Well Tuukka, after you smashed the post, your stick and finally the ice itself you seemed to have gotten your point across.

For those who did not infer from the aura of anger embodied by the words above, the Bruins lost yesterday and while losing alone does hurt enough it was the fashion that the Bruins most recent shortcoming came in that has people all riled up this weekend. 

After the shootout solution to the terrible being of the NHL tie was introduced  following the 2005 NHL lockout, the NHL has seen a constant upward trend in the number of shootouts in relation to the number of games played and after a recent proposal at the GM meetings in Toronto was shot down the lament of NHL players in particular has all but become a screaming constant.

"At least it would be a goal within the game, not just a shootout goal," Rask said.

The Bruins have now played 3 shootouts this season and Tuukka has been a part of all of them. However, Thursday seemed different. It was a hard fought game that saw 4 lead changes, 64 hits and 83 shots. Rask faced 26 of those 83 shots and while he did manage to stop 24 of those 26 shots en route to yet another strong effort, the Bruins star seemed out of sync throughout the game and after starting 19 out of the Bruins 22 games played this season, fans immediately seem to point to fatigue as a major reason for the outburst.

Rask is tired, Rask is annoyed but in the words of coach Claude Jullian there is no harm in harming a goalpost every now and then.

"He was frustrated,” Julien said  “We’ve seen worse. We’ve seen a crate go flying before and that’s just Tuukka. He’s got that temper that sometimes you wish he’d kind of hide it a little bit, and hold on for at least a minute and do it behind closed doors, but that’s just the way he is. That’s his personality."

Jullian then referenced the slew of comedy directed at Tuukka's failure to break his stick during his initial outburst. 

"He had a new stick in his hands today and I think he finally destroyed the other one after a few tries. I’m just doing the same thing as you guys; I’m laughing it off. It’s just a frustrated goaltender that really takes a lot of pride in winning games. No matter what he does, if he feels he didn’t pull his load, he’s going to be like that.”

The topic of Jullian's words than reverted to the shootout genre.

"It doesn't matter whether we win or lose in a shootout, we all have our opinions on that," Julien said. "I just find when a game is played so well like that, it's a lot easier when both teams could've walked out of here and said, 'You know what? A hard fought game' and both teams would've been happy. Right now, you come out of there, more or less feeling like you've lost a game. In my mind we played well enough to win. Those are tough, whatever, if you want to call it a loss to take because I thought we deserved a lot better."

Thursday night was...interesting. As the puck was dropped we all knew the potential that this game held. Alexander Steen came into the night having scored points in 13 of his last 16 games and yet the Bruins kept him at bay. The Bruins came into the night 1 loss away from falling out of 1st place in the conference and yet even when they did just that, the point they gained by launching themselves into overtime has them 2 points up on the Penguins for the title of best in the east.

Loosing stinks and frankly Tuukka knows that better than anyone else but above all one loss does not define a season. It is the enthusiasm shown by Rask's smashing his stick and it is the comedic aura combined with the underlying sense of intensity exhibited by his coach that show that the Bruins are no last place failure. They are competitors.

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Focus on the footwork: Why after intensive review it is clear that Monday night's non call was a huge mistake on the part of the refs

Alright Patriots fans, now that you have had your 48 hours to cool off after Monday night's disappearing flag non call that ended the Patriots prime-time game with Carolina and or further intensity your opinion on whether or not such a decision was warranted we are here on this Wednesday evening ready to provide one last look at Monday's controversy.

For those who have somehow escaped in informed of the the firestorm of fan anger that has ensued since the conclusion of that game, the New England Patriots, winners of 3 of their last 4 games fond themselves trailing 24 to 20 with 3 seconds left on the clock and the ball at the Panthers 18 yard line. With the game coming down to 1 final play the objective for Tom Brady and his New England Patriots was simple: move the ball 18 yards and therefore, win the game.

They set up in hail mary position lining Aaron Dobson up to the left of Brady and Rob Gronkowski, Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman to his right. Brady stood roughly 6 yards back from his center and upon the inaudible stomp of his foot, the Patriots pass catchers pealed out from the line of scrimmage and made moves engineered to deceive and simply out run the Panthers defense which prior to the play had lined up 5 various players all positioned in various safety like points between the 10 and 1 yard lines.

As the play rapidly developed and the clock officially ran out, the ball thrown cleanly out of the hands of Tom Brady soared midway through the end-zone obviously on a preferred route straight to the outstretched hands of tight end Rob Gronkowski. However as the pass enters the vicinity of the end-zone Gronk noticed that the ball was slightly under thrown. He immediately slammed his right foot hard into the ground and made what seemed like a successful attempt to get back into a position that would end with him hauling in the pass. But in the eyes of defender Luke Kechley that was not a desired outcome and so he launched himself forward and proceeded to push Gronkowski back out of the preferred receiving real estate.

This is defensive pass interference.

The flag was immediately thrown but frankly what Patriots fans are busy screaming about this week is what happened next. As Tom Brady clapped his hands an proceeded to march up to the 1 yard line (where the penalty would have put the ball) the 3 referees quickly congregated and proceeded to pick up the flag that had been thrown. "The game is over," the lead referee said free of emotion and so the mayhem began. Brady sprinted to the referee's side and from what was heard over the ESPN broadcast of the game uttered some choice words directed at the official all while Patriots fans across the globe sat confused as to how the call could be reversed.

The man who threw the flag was just feet from where the would be penalty occurred while those who came in to reverse it were at the very least 10 yards away. Furthermore, the reason put forth as an explanation for the result of the play was that the ball was "uncatachable".

Now frankly, none of us have ever heard that word before and as you look into the NFL rule book, none of us have read it either. In perhaps the most relevant of 6 situations in which defensive pass interference is called the NFL rulebook states that such a penalty will be called when a defender is seen "cutting off the path of a receiver by making contact with him without playing the ball."

Such was the case last night, Luke Kechley wrapped Gronkowski in a tight bear hug and while by the end of the play he was far out of the passing lane, when Kechley first made contact with Gronk, both players as well as the Panthers defender who would eventually make the open interception all sat converged at the very center of the end-zone. To that point Gronkowski had stopped running forward and as I cannot fixate on enough, it is the foot work that shows that without Kechley there, the final of Monday's game would have been very different.

In the past few months, it seemed that Boston sports teams have got the short end of the stick. Furthermore, between the called obstruction play in the World Series and the not called interference play on Monday, it seems that referees are not really sure on well anything to do with physical contact between Boston athletes and their opponents.

To see the play one more time click here

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The Case for Andre Williams: Why the BC running back might be a strong favorite to win the Heisman this season

Going into 2013, a senior BC running back had rarely seen his name prove to be a big one on any specific game's score sheet.

Through his first 3 years with the Eagles, Williams had averaged just 4 yards a carry and complied just 5 100+ yard games on just 1562 yards of ground offence in those 3 years. Williams, who had been recruited by BC largely because of his massive 6 foot 227 pound frame an coachable speed, was having trouble using his affinities to his advantage and prior to 2013 was defiantly not the "we give you the ball and you go run for a while" kind of rusher that he is today.

Going into BC's week one bout with Villanova, the team was one built solely around the passing game. That strategy however was forsaken before halftime. With almost no warning, Williams put up his first 100 yard game in almost a full calender year rushing for 114 yards and compiling a yards per carry average of upwards of 5.

After the success he had in week one, there was no doubt that the game plan heading into week two was different from years past. First and foremost they were going into the game coming off a win, a situation that had occurred just 5 times in the past 2 years. Yet on a more individual level, it was a quiet truth that rusher: Williams was one good game away from solidifying his spot as a premier rusher on a team that has not had one in what seems like an eternity.

However, despite the magnitude of the situation, Williams answered the call in week 2 and then again in week 3 and frankly in every game since. On this Sunday morning, Andre Williams who has eclipsed 100 yards in 8 of 10 games this season, is the leading rusher in the entire NCAA and is one of the biggest reasons why BC is now bowl eligible for the first time since 2010.

He has 1,810 yards on the ground and on Saturday set a whole host of BC records via his astonishing 339 yard game that housed 3 rushes of 25 yards or longer. Following the longest of those 3 mega runs, it was announced atop Chestnut Hill that the now from unknown back had officially complied the greatest single season rushing numbers in Eagles history. The roar of jubilation that soon overtook Alumni Stadium was defining.

“My mom and dad were on the field today, they were a motivation for me. It was my last game in Alumni Stadium and the emotions I was feeling before and during the game were just crazy,’’ Williams said. “It really wasn’t hard to get back on the field and get another run out there even though I was hurting, even though I was tired. None of those things really mattered, because there was so much on the line.’’

Williams needs 364 more yards in these next 2 games to pass Montel Harris for the spot as the title of greatest rusher in BC history but even if he does not manage to nab those remaining 364 yards, there is still one other form of recognition that might very well put him into the same heap of success as former alumni like Luke Kechley and Doug Flutie. That kind recognition goes by one name: The Heisman Trophy.

It has been 29 years since Doug Flutie won the 1984 Heisman and despite the success of so many different men throughout this BC organization Flutie remains the only Eagle to ever win the NCAA's greatest individual prize. However, Andre Williams has a chance this year and frankly as you look across the league, when you subtract his being on a largely overlooked team in BC, he might even be a favorite.

“He’s a workhorse,’’ coach Steve Addazio said of Williams, “I think that any time you have a dominant football player that is all about the right things and stands for what’s right in college football then that’s what the Heisman Trophy represents. There are some tremendously worthy candidates out there, but why not Andre Williams?’’

While quarterbacks have been heavily favored throughout the history of Heisman voting, the official "mission of the trophy sates that: "The Heisman Memorial Trophy annually recognizes the outstanding college football player whose performance best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard work."

While operating off of those words, Williams sure fits the description. Furthermore as you look back at the numbers compiled by the last 5 Running Backs who have won, Williams is statistically better than 4 of them when it comes to yards achieved. Now it seems that the only roadblock standing between Williams and his trophy are the Quarterbacks. Johnny Manzel and Florida State hurler: James Winston. Both QB's have put up spectacular numbers and when you compare 3,300 yards passing to Williams 1,810 yards rushing, the quarterback bias will likely shine through.

Regardless of that perhaps Williams’ strongest statistical pillar for which he stands on is a number that out of context seems minuscule: 14. Those 14 rushing TD's are astounding in a modern day NCAA that like the NFL is largely centered around the passing game and frankly, fans like touchdowns and so therefore, so do those who vote in the Heisman considerations.

Honestly, the likelihood of Andre Williams winning the Heisman this season are remote but nevertheless, he is running into the record books as one of the greatest rushers in Boston College history. He is strong, he is resilient and no matter the adversity put before him, he has persevered in 2013. Win or lose, 2013 will be a season to remember for BC fans and frankly, Andre Williams is the reason why. 

Shown above is a perfect example of Williams at his absolute, tackle breaking, best

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To win the trade: How Seguin's 4 goal game, Phil Kessel's success in Toronto and Loui Eriksson's lackluster performance in Boston effect the perception of 2 of the biggest trades in Bruins history

When Tyler Seguin was traded to the Dallas Stars back on July 4th we all know the possibility and even likelihood that he would score 400 goals in the season and become the next Wane Gretzky. But frankly after what happened last night, the entire hockey world acts surprised.

Going into the Stars' Friday night game with Calgary, Tyler Seguin had scored 8 goals and 9 assists in 18 games played. Less than 3 hours later his score sheet barely looked recognizable. Tyler Seguin netted 4 goals on Friday night and without a doubt played the best game of his still fledgling career. He improved to a point where he is now an astounding 12 goal scorer and the 4th highest scorer in the entire NHL. Furthermore, the former Bruin winger has already eclipsed the scoring output of both his 1st and 3rd years in the league and however unlikely, it deserves mentioning that should he continue on this torrent goal scoring pace, Seguin will finish 2013-2014 with 52 goals. As a fan of the Boston Bruins, all I can do is relay the single exclamation that came to the minds of all of Bruins nation when they woke up this morning and read the morning paper. Ouch. 

We look around this morning and think what if this kid was still in Boston? What if those 4 goals came during the Bruins mini slump last week? If so, would Seguin's presence have turned the Bruins into the 15 win team that even this early in the season they could be? No. 

Like was said last July, Boston was never the place for Tyler. Here the team is centered around the framework that was laid in 2009 carried out when Boston won the cup in 2011 and intensify when 6 Boston Bruins netted 20 goals in their year of Cup defense that was 2012. This is the team that has seen just 3, 30 goal scorers in nearly a decade and for Tyler Seguin that kind of scoring distribution seemed to be off-putting. He always had this capability resting within him but like Hulk needed anger to trigger his violent power Tyler Seguin needed the Bruins to implement a kind of support they simply could not provide in order to allow him to bring home the goals.  

This is the defining factor that distinguishes Seguin's 208 games in Boston from the 19 he has played in Dallas. He has been moved to center and told that HE is the most important part of his team. There are players who need this kind of its all about me mentality in order to succeed. Seguin and Kessel are two examples of this. Guys like Patrice Bergeron and Milan Lucic are examples of the opposite. 

However, while Seguin's future in Boston was always a short one when you look into the Boston end of the Seguin trade and by extension the Kessel trade that gave the Bruins the pick the used to select Seguin everything seemed to have flipped from 1 year ago. At the end of last season, it seemed that with Seguin succeeding in Beantown and Kessel succeeding in Toronto the trade seemed even for both teams. Sadly though, once Seguin was shipped out of Boston this means that in a way, the Bruins traded Phil Kessel for a 28 year old Swedish winger: Loui Eriksson.  

How does that sound? 

To spit out a few more statistics, Bruin, Eriksson has scored 3 goals in Boston, 2 of which have gone in off his skate, while Kessel in Toronto has scored 10. Also, as you look towards  Kessel's situation in Toronto and the one he went through in Boston, they unlike the case with Seguin are all but identical. From 06 to 08, the Bruins had no identity and therefore, Kessel was the big man on campus scoring 36 goals in 2008 all while playing the same position he plays today in Toronto.  

Over the past 5 seasons, the ideas and outlooks on the Phil Kessell Trade that changed the future of the Bruins for the better has constantly changed. There was Seguin in Boston who came just 1 goal shy of 30 in 2012 and then Kessel who flipped the tides back in his favor with 3 straight 30 goal seasons in Toronto. Finally with Seguin gone and Loui Eriksson introduced  it seems that the book has been closed, the hatched has been buried. Unless Loui Eriksson turns it around  soon, the Bruins will not only have lost the Toronto trade but also the Dallas one. 

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UPDATE on Stephan Stamkos injury: Lightning center who sustained injury in Bruins game likely needs sugury

"It's obviously tough to see him go down, not only for our team — he's one of the best players in the world," a Lightning official said after the 3-0 loss that saw the greatest Tampa athlete in years. "People come out to cheer the Boston Bruins here, and they come to see Steven Stamkos play hockey. It's a loss for everybody."

For those who have not already heard, Stephan Stamkos, the NHL's leading scorer left today's veterans day matinee against the Bruins after undergoing a brutal collision with the right goal post that saw his shin seemingly flex violently where it should not be flexing.  

Stamkos left the game which within minutes saw the Lightning give up 2 goals in 20 seconds on their way to loosing their 3rd game of the year against the Bruins.  

Meanwhile, he was taken to Mass General Hospital where after several X-Rays is was determined that Stamkos had crushed his shin and would need surgery to reconstruct the bone. Rehab for the center will likely take several months and has  nearly ended any hopes for Stephan to start for the Canadian Olympic team set to compete in Soci this February. 

Looking forward, the lack of Stamkos will have a much greater effect on his primary team down in Florida wich after the Bruins win today will likely have multiple teams breathing down their neeks for the considerable future. When you subtract the near point per game production of Stamkos they may be in big trouble especially while teams like the Bruins will go into the month of December with a relatively easy schedule and will have no problem distancing themselves from a Tampa team now devoid of their scoring leader.  

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Stephan Stamkos leaves game after grisly collision with post: A look at the magnitude of this injury

Hockey is a game played with a puck made of solid rubber that is rocketed at speeds of upwards of 100 MPH. They dive in front of these shots then jump up and then skate at 30 miles per hour across a sheet of ice covered in men wielding sticks in their hands and near knives on their feet. In a game possessing this much sheer power it is a miracle that it is even safe to be played. However there are injuries and during the second period of today's Bruins/Lightning veterans day matinee Bruins fans witnessed firsthand the grisly level of bodily harm that hockey can induce.

With just over 7 minutes to go in the second period of what was then a scoreless Bruins vs. Lightning midday game Stephan Stamkos got locked up with Bruin Dougie Hamilton in an attempt to prevent the defenceman from getting a clean shot on net. Prior to what happened next, Stamkos was tied with Alexander Steen for the NHL lead in goals with 14 and had been displaying the same back checking willingness that today would take him out of the game. 

"Obviously when he can’t get up it is a serious injury but we all hope for the best with him and hope it is not to serious." Bruin center Gregory Campbell said following the injury. But his words of remorse were not lonely in Boston today as without a doubt Stephan Stamkos truly is a league wide fan favorite meaning it stings us all when he goes down.  

"It is unfortunate that injuries happen in the game." Bruins assistant coach Doug Jarvis said minutes after Campbell spoke. 

Stamkos is tough, but gracious in his goal scoring. He rarely whines about calls or specific plays and takes accountability for his actions. There is nothing not to like about Stephan and for that reason, Bruins fans immediately fell silent and watched as these events unfolded. He slid hard into the post and screamed in pain as the net slid off its pegs. But being the competitor that he is, Stamkos made a valiant attempt to raise to his feet only to fall back to the ice and slam his fist repeatedly against the playing surface.  

The game remained halted for the better part of 10 minutes all before Stamkos was painfully moved to a stretcher and hauled off the ice.  Bruins fans present rose to their feet and gave a standing ovation to the fallen foe.

"It's broken" he supposedly said to those gathered around him and after several replays it is clear that that might not be of any exaggerated nature. The leg that collided most strongly with the right goalpost seemed to snap or at least contort itself in a non-natural way. 

It is important to note that although Stamkos spent time burying his face in the ice he never lost consciousness and was immediately transported via ambulance to a local Boston hospital for X-Ray examination. To this point, no results have been announced.  

A loss like this is one not simply suffered by Tampa but by extension the entire NHL. But to this point we have all seen the mighty toughness of Stephan Stamkos and while there may be a absence of intact leg bone right now there is no doubt that the second he can even crawl on his leg he will be on the ice fighting as passionately as possible to get back to playing the game he loves. 

To see a GIF of the Stamkos injury click here WARNING: leg can be seen bending in severely unnatural way.

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Bruins grab second straight win in rematch of Game Seven vs Leafs: Bergeron scores twice in 3-1 win

Perfection remains a hollow dream for the Boston Bruins. Winning however has once again become a regularity. 

The Bruins won their second straight game yesterday but on a night that represented the first meeting since one of the greatest single game comebacks in Bruins history, the win meant so much more. Fact is last season was somewhat like hockey's 2013 Red Sox. After 7 years out of the playoff spot, the Leafs had fired their coach and replaced him with a clean cut, soft spoken man named Randy Carlyle. They added guys like James Van Riemsdyke and cultivated the talents of Nazim Kadri and Keith Aucoin whom they grabbed via free agency. Long story short this was a team built on potential not reality as was shown by their recent playoff drought. Van Riemsdyke or simple JVR had seen his fair share of success throughout his days with the Flyers scoring 21 goals in the year the Flyers went to the Stanley Cup and then 11 more during that playoff run. In 2012-2013, he banged in 18 goals and if the season were formatted into the normal 82 game jaunt, would have been on pace for nearly 31 goals. As for their up and coming center: Nazim Kadri was taking part in his first full season as a Leaf and soared right from the get go putting in 18 goals of his own and, like Van Riemsdyke putting himself on pace for a 31 goal 82 game season.  

No one expected that the Leafs would make the playoffs in 2013 and so they were like the Red Sox. Come the end of the season they had made the playoffs, and so they were like the Red Sox. The Leafs finished 1 spot behind the Bruins in the standings and faced them in the first round bringing joy to their town and reviving the notion of postseason success that had previously run rampant in a city that to date has won 13 Stanley Cups.  

They snapped troubling winless streaks grabbing their first playoff win at home in almost 10 years in Game Six of the series. But above all they stormed back from a 3-1 series deficit and after blasting Boston in game 6 they came to Beantown knowing that a win would put them through to the semifinals. That is where the similarities with the Red Sox live and die. While the 2013 Sox never failed in situations of intense magnitude, the Leafs chocked even after leading 4-1 in the 3rd.  

We all know what happened in the last 10 minutes of that Game Seven that will forever be immortalized in Bruins history. Down by 3 late in the 3rd, Nathan Horton started the rally and was soon followed by tallies from Milan Lucic and then, with 52 seconds left in the game, Patrice Bergeron who would also go on to win it all in OT. 

"It seemed like it brought a little bit of emotion back to our team because it felt like a bit of a dead game on our end," said Lucic referencing a 2nd period penalty that seemed to ignite the flame for Boston. "You've got to give them credit, the way Toronto played in that Game 7. They didn't give us many chances in the first 50 minutes and we weren't able to get anything going."

However, 6 months later, the win means nothing. The Bruins did not win the Stanley Cup that year and when the Leafs came to town for their long awaited rematch that occurred Saturday night, the tables were turned. The Leafs were 3 points ahead of the Bruins in the standings and the Bruins found themselves a lowly 5th seeded team in the Eastern Conference. 

The game meant nothing and prior to the first puck drop, the Leafs seconded that notion. 

"Most of it is, it was tougher before the season started and waiting all summer and just having to deal with it," Kadri said. "Now that the season is started and we’re 15, 16 games into it, I think a lot of guys have forgotten about it. But it’s still in the back of your head."   

What helps even more with the erasing of last season memories is the fact that since then the Leafs do not even look the same. This off-season they have added guys like David Clarkson and Dave Bolland both of which were present in Saturday night's rematch. Clarkson logged 16 minutes of ice time and a fight in the 3-1 Leafs loss.  

So much of this game was memories, reignited spells of sadness and surging thirsts for vindication but in the end it was also, just a hockey game. You had guys beating each other senseless and then even more trying to break one another's ribs via any one of the bone crushing hits delivered in this game. You saw shots, you saw saves, you saw drama and above all you saw goals.  

"I think they played solid today," Bruins net-minder Tuukka Rask said. Rask finished the night with 33 saves and his second consecutive strong outing between the pipes. "There were a lot of blocked shots [15]. The second period caught us off guard again and we didn't play good as a team, but those five Ds battled hard and did the job." 

The defensive core that Rask mentioned there, was already depleted coming into this game as Johnny Boychuck has been out since October 31st with a back injury. Furthermore their defensive depth took yet another hit when Adam McQuaid left the game in the 1st period due to an apparent leg injury. The remaining Bruin defenders, however depleted, did manage to step up and fill the void left by their two fallen comrades. Zdeno Chara logged 28 minutes of ice time in the game and scored Boston's first goal with 5 minutes to go in the first period. That goal was Chara's 3rd of the year and the 13th scored by a Bruin defender this season.   

Center Patrice Bergeron would add 2 more goals before all was said and done, handing Boston a comprehensive 3-1 victory at home.  

6 months after pulling off the largest comeback in Game Seven history, the Bruins knew that despite the history, this was just another game. Just another game and in turn just another win. 

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The fault in our rosters: A look at how the recent Richie Incognito bullying scandal is just the most recent in a line of marks against the NFL

When you look through the accolades of NFL active participants and recent alumni, the words present are not good ones. You see no recognition of "valedictorian" next to the names of guys like Stephan Ridley or Aquib Talib and you surely see no hours of voluntary community service accumulated by such men. No, the space available on these endless stacks of background checks is almost completely occupied by phrases and stories largely fixating around words like murder, DUI, domestic violence and general assault.

There is no doubt that the NFL is a league overwhelmed by the ghosts of its players pasts but at the same time there are still perfectly good people who join this league, leave their troubled pasts behind and move into a position where they are ready to be the role models their cities need. Players like Ray Lewis who shed the personality that led him to stab someone after the Super Bowl in 2002 are perfect examples of this. Guys like Aaron Hernandez or more recently Richie Incognito are not.

For those who have not already heard, Jonathan Martin was a second year, defensive tackle playing for the Miami Dolphins football team. Reports first surface surrounding Martin just days after the Patriots left town following their 27-17 win over the Dolphins in which Martin racked up several tackles and one hit on Tom Brady. At first glance the situation seemed bizarre: an NFL player randomly snapping and with absolutely no warning eluding to "emotional problems" when he checked into a hospital for therapeutic treatment. But the story did not really check out. You could tell by the words of those around him that it was no secret that something was wrong.

"I love Jon like a brother," Former Stanford teammate of Martin: Andrew Luck said. "We had a lot of fun -- a lot of good times -- together at Stanford." He then went on to discuss in more detail, the situation in Miami. "It's obviously an incredibly unfortunate situation. But out of respect for him and what's going on, I'd rather not talk about it."

There sure was a slight aura of secrecy coming from the Dolphins locker room and then suddenly we learned why. By November 2nd, just 3 days after Martin was reported as leaving the team a new name had been introduced and by then was suspected as being the reason for Martin's previously inaptly explained departure. That name was Richie Incognito who unlike Martin was an 8 year veteran of the NFL.

Almost 2 weeks after the fact we now know that what started as friendly rookie teasing, rapidly turned into flat out bullying of Jonathon Martin and now has Incognito in a heap of trouble. By November 4th Martin's camp had already accused the Dolphins organization of player misconduct and was threatening to sue. Yet in more shocking news, Richie Incognito had been suspended indefinitely and in the words of an unidentified Dolphins correspondent "better file his retirement papers [because he will never play again in Miami]". But for those who were following this case a chilling revelation was delivered. A transcript of a voice message delivered to Martin by Incognito was dug up by ESPN Sports Center.

"Hey, wassup, you half n----- piece of s---. I saw you on Twitter, you been training 10 weeks. [I want to] s--- in your f---ing mouth. [I'm going to] slap your f---ing mouth. [I'm going to] slap your real mother across the face [laughter]. F--- you, you're still a rookie. I'll kill you."

For some reason Incognito thought this was the way teammates treated each-other and frankly the flaws in his beliefs on teamwork were so flawed that he will be given no second chases.  

The NFL is in trouble and it is guys like Incognito who are the reason why. 

****

  

Rookie hazing is a plague. 

Is goes against nearly every teaching of how to treat teammates but for some reason it is accepted. There is nothing good that comes out of tying guys to goal posts and pouring Gatorade over their heads against their will and yet it happens in every locker room league wide. Even in New England.

No matter how bad it is, in most cases, hazing does not cause the kind of mental trauma that it did with Jonathon Martin but then again the situation with Martin went beyond hazing. In addition to the slur infested voice mail Incognito supposedly forced Martin into paying for a 4,000$ vacation he did not even attend. Martin was rumored to have been hit by Incognito in the clubhouse and was known to be constantly tormented via the same verbal attacks utilized in the voice recording.  

There is a point where this hazing crosses a line and while from the outside it is obvious that should these allegations be on par with reality, Incognito absolutely deserves all the punishment he is handed, the most disgusting aspect of this all is the fact that since the first reports of bullying, Incoginto's teammates have been defending him.  

"What's perceived is that Richie is this psychopath racist, and the reality is Richie was a pretty good teammate," tackle Tyson Clabo told news reporters. "I don't know why (Martin is) doing this. And the only person who knows why is Jonathan Martin."  

On another note, Greg Dale a current Duke professor spoke of an incident regarding the scandal, within his classroom. 

"I was teaching my class at Duke to a group of undergrads, and we were talking about this very thing in class," Dale says. "And the comments from several of the young men were, 'Well, he really needed to man up. He's a man, and you've got to handle that on your own. He shouldn't have walked away.' And that's the core of the problem right there."   

Furthermore, Minnesota Vikings Linebacker Chad Greenway extended the saga by saying that in most cases, “stuff like this” is more like bonding rather than bullying.

"The reality is, as a guy coming in, you have to understand the environment you're in and take it with a grain of salt, be able to dish it out as well as take it and just become part of that group," he says. "I don't know the situation (in Miami), what went on. But it happens. It happens all over the place.”

"I think 'bullying' is strongly overused at every age in this country, starting at my 6-year-old. People are just rude. People are mean. I wouldn't call it bullying. I think it's just being ridiculous. But as a grown man, it's more of a brotherhood, ball-busting mentality than I think we're directly coming at somebody."

But there is another side to the NFL player opinions on the situation. As was stated earlier there are good people in the NFL. Redskins veteran: Londen Fletcher is one of them.

"Obviously, it shows racism, bigotry, to leave a voice mail like that," Fletcher says. "He probably said that to the guy's face. He was very bold. … That wasn't hazing. That was flat bullying. … That right there was beyond the scope of anything I've seen that guys have done to rookies."

London then went on to talk about an experience he had in a locker room where he stood up as a leader and literally pulled a bunch of teammates off of a rookie who had been taped to the locker room floor while being doused with the contents of bags of “Icy Hot”.

That is the kind of leadership that a team needs and in Miami that leadership simply is not there. While London Fletcher is running around yanking guys off rookies, QB Ryan Tannehill in Florida is one of the guys on top being pulled away. While Bill Belichick in New England is screaming at you and benching guys for high stepping into the end zone, Joe Philbin is turning a cold shoulder and backing away from Incognito rather than getting up in his face and telling him it is time to shape up.

The perceptions embodied by the quotes above are what is wrong with the NFL. Unlike the NHL, MLB and even the NBA, the violence that occurs on the field of an NFL game is often not constrained to that field. There have been upwards of 35 arrests of NFL players since the 2013 Super Bowl and while Rodger Godell tries his best to rule the league he presides over with an iron fist, in some cases discipline does close to nothing.  

The NFL is the most popular league on the planet and it is now time to act like it, on and off the field. 

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