Patriots 2014 schedule released: Week by week preview

Week One: at Miami Dolphins

After a 2013 season that saw the Dolphins finally assemble a record where their losses did not outweigh their victories, Miami comes into 2014 knowing that they have at least some sort of chance of butting into these playoffs. However, they have made a habit of losing to the Patriots in recent years and have won just 1 game against New England since 2010. I cannot see a way that the Dolphins upset the rested Patriots in Week One

Week Two: at Minnesota Vikings

Sans Adrian Peterson, the Vikings are nothing. They lack a quarterback and though they will likely draft one in the entry draft later this month, the Vikings will put all their hopes and dreams for 2014 on the back of a few rookies. However, when you factor in the fact that Adrian Peterson is one of the best players in football right now as well as the fact that the Patriots run defense will likely be the same sub par unit that it was last year, this contest could be closer than you think. In the end though, I trust Vince Wilfork to be able to stuff AP up the middle and grind out a win for New England.

Week Three: vs Oakland Raiders

There is not much of a question here. The lowly Raiders have gotten even more lowly this off-season losing the only bright spot on their roster to the Super Bowl Champion Seahawks. That player was Tarrelle Pryor. They have close to no receivers and though their running game is as close to a strength as they have, these Raiders will stand no chance against the efficient Patriots.

Week Four: at Kansas City Chiefs

Contrary to the previous week, Kansas City vs New England could either be a serious blow out or a thriller. In the year after his awkward departure from San Francisco, Cheifs QB, Alex Smith made his former team look foolish last season playing above average football and helping guide the Cheifs to one of their best records in years. As for how they will match up against the Patriots I am not to worried about that offence though. I trust the Patriots linebackers to stop any short passes and expect the herculean secondary the Pats assembled this off-season to render any downfeild attacks by Smith unsuccessful. What I do worry about is the KC defense. Throughout last season their defense ruined opponents with bruising tackles and relentless pass coverage. Can Brady beat a team like this while he and his receivers still might not be on the same page? I think not. I predict the Patriots first loss of the season coming in Week Four against Kansas City.

Week Five: vs Cincinnati Bengals

Cincinnati is a weird team to struggle against. Their QB lacks grit and their list of good receivers is limited to just one name - AJ Green. And yet, the Bengals have made a habit of late of making the Patriots completely break down and loose the organization that is their key to victory. It is this intangible factor that could bite the Patriots in this game and I predict that for the second straight week the Patriots will lose.

Week Six: at Buffalo Bills

This one is a lock. In Brandon Spikes' first meeting with his former team, the Patriots will be going all out and could be desperate for a win after two straight tough weeks. CJ Spiller has not lived up to expectations in Buffalo and their pass defense stands no chance against this powerful Patriots attack. I predict that the Patriots get back on track in Buffalo and pull out an easy blow out win.

Week Seven: vs New York Jets

The Jets pulled out an insane overhaul this off season only it did not go exactly to plan. The Jets dropped Domenique Rodgers Cromadie expecting to be able to sign Darrelle Revis who the Patriots eventually got. They also dropped Mark Sanchez who, as bad as he was might very well have been the Jets best option at quarterback going into 2014 while eliminating the majority of their offensive line. Not only do I predict a victory in this game for the Patriots, but I also foresee a defensive domination by New England that could give the team some great momentum going into the second half of the season.

Week Eight: vs Chicago Bears

In their first game against the Bears since Week 14 of 2010, the Patriots might as well pencil this in as an opportunity to absolutely ruin the Bears. For years not the situation at QB for the Bears has been at the very least questionable. Jay Cutler can chuck short and accurate passes but is better at throwing to the other team than his team whenever the play is 20 to 30 yards down field. Interceptions alone could rip the Bears apart against the Patriots and for that reason I pick the Patriots in this game.

Week Nine: vs Denver Broncos

This will be tough. After being demolished in last year's AFC Championship Game, the Patriots did manage to improve their defense that doomed them in that ill fated game. They will host Denver in this, their toughest game of the year but might very well struggle. But at the same time, this is the kind of game that Tom Brady will love to play in. I predict an unconventional, unexpected, last minute win for the Patriots.

Week Ten: BYE

Week Eleven: at Colts

 In the 3 seasons since the Colts drafted their QB of the future in Andrew Luck, the Patriots have beaten them 43-22 and 59-24 not once showing any difficulty in scoring or defending against these Colts. However, the Colts have made little additions to their offence this off season that may boost their capability to compete with the Patriots in a track meet game.  Hakeem Nicks for example was acquired from the Giants in March. But no one can compete with Tom Brady when he gets in a groove scoring wise. I predict a win for New England.

Week Twelve: vs Detroit Lions

Even after a bizarre statistical season that saw him amass better stats in 2013 than Tom Brady, I assure you that he remains just a borderline elite QB. But the Lions do pose a threat to New England. They acquired Golden Tate during the off-season and boosting their capabilities at safety. They also added Reggie Bush since the last time the Patriots faced this team and if the Lions watch any tape of the Patriots, they will likely lean on him heavily. This game will probably feature at least 1 touchdown by the Lions receivers and then a brutal smash mouth game at the line of scrimmage as Stafford dishes out hand-offs to his prime RB's. Once again I pick Patriots in this one.

Week Thirteen: at Green Bay Packers

I have a soft spot for Aaron Rodgers. He is a man showing similar signs of greatness that Tom Brady was in his first few seasons. He throws with brutal speed and accuracy, and can bail a team out when they need him most. He is a leader and finally, he is actually more mobile than Tom Brady. Aside from Peyton Manning in Week Nine, Aaron Rodgers will be the best quarterback the Patriots face all year and they will have to treat him that way. But he is not the only threat they will face. Reigning offensive rookie of the year Eddie Lacey will run outside patterns against the Patriots, putting allot of strain on their far from immaculate linebackers. That could spell disaster.

On the other side of the ball, the Patriots and whatever running game they mix into Brady's downfeild passing assault will have to deal with brand new Packer, Julius Peppers who will use his size to wreck anyone who comes in his way. I predict a Patriots loss in this one because of stellar performances by Rodgers, Lacey and Peppers.

Week Fourteen: at San Diego Chargers

The Chargers are fun. After snapping their 3 year playoff drought last season, the Chargers have become that team with no name recognition but the capability to win allot of games. With a strong defense and a wonderful short pass/running game, the Chargers will pose a threat but will in the end be chopped down by New England. 

Week Fifteen: vs Miami Dolphins

Same deal as Week One, I predict a win for the Patriots

Week Sixteen: at New York Jets

I predict a win for New England.

Week Seventeen: vs Buffalo Bills

In their final game of the year, I predict a win for New England. 

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Series even: In rough and tumble game, Bruins even series with Detroit at 1-1

Game One was a small hiccup for the Bruins that took place where the eyes of the league were on their backs. The Bruins were and still are tentative favorites to win the Stanley Cup this year. That accolade by definition makes them clear cut favorites to win their series with Detroit in this first round.

But Game One threatened to change that. The Bruins were bested by the Redwings via a last second goal that very well should have been saved by Tuukka Rask and at times were made to look confused and unorganized in the face of the omnipresent-in-the-playoffs Redwings.

But the Bruin did not panic. In fact they handled their defeat very well minimizing the loss while at the same time stressing the importance of getting a win in Game Two. They lived in the moment and accepted that the past was the past. 

“We’re fine,” Coach Julien said. “It’s a seven-game series. You certainly don’t get down on yourself because of a 1-0 loss; it could have gone either way. It just shows you how close and tight it is. We just have to be better in certain areas that we talked about this morning and hopefully we’ll be able to bring it to the game tomorrow, and if we do that hopefully the outcome will change.”

Other players on the team seemed more focused on how important it would be to avoid going down by 2 games in the series. The Bruins have proved to be a resilient team in recent years, most notably overcoming 0-2 series deficits against the Canadians and Chanuks in their 2011 cup run. But even that does not make 0-2 a favorable position for Boston as the series shifts to Detroit on Tuesday. 

“We’ve got to do a better job of playing our game, establishing more time in the offensive zone,” Milan Lucic said Saturday. “A lot of the times, what we talk about throughout the season that has made us successful is puck management and obviously that’s going to be an important part of this series for both teams, and that needs to get better heading into tomorrow.”

And not only did they understand the importance of Game Two but they also worked to find what went wrong in that Game One and what they could improve upon. 

“I think we were physical enough [Friday],” said Bruins coach Claude Julien. “We still had a lot of good hits, but they do a good job when it comes to our forecheck. They get there and like to have bodies in front of us on the forecheck to kind of slow us down, and we’ve got to find ways to get through that. There’s no question about that."

“That’s one of the reasons that we weren’t as effective on our forecheck [Friday] as we have in the past, so we’ve got to find ways to get through that," he added. "And if they’re going to slow us down, if we’re skating hopefully they’ll end up taking penalties. But we’ve got to work through those kinds of things and establish the forecheck that we feel is an important part of our game.”

Physicality wise, the Bruins were dull in game one failing to exploit that 'edge play' that intimidates opponents. Just 3 penalties were committed in Game One.

But none of that was the case in Game Two as the Bruins beat up the Redwings intimidating their first round foes and leveling the playing field in the series. They mashed 33 hits and took 7 penalties in a game that frustrated and humiliated the Redwings. At times it seemed that one of the few teams with more playoff experience than the Bruins were completely petrified by them. 

The Bruins outscored the Redwings 4-1 with at least 3 of their 4 goals coming in the worst ways. They included goals off giveaways by Jimmy Howard and cheap five hole poke shots from the front of the net that all brought the play of the entire Detroit defense under question. 

But perhaps the most humiliating aspect of Game Two for the Redwings was the incident that took place at the 20 minute mark of the first period. Frustrated at the state of the game, pint sized forward Brendan Smith tried to pick a fight with Bruin monster Zdeno Chara. While they did not actually fight, Chara basically made the Detroit star look like a graceless kid with no care for his own well-being. 

And the humiliation for Smith did not end at the end with the game. After the game his Boston Bruin brother, Reily Smith told reporters that it was "probobly not the best decision" his brother had made and soon after that, photos of Chara's demonic smile as he pummeled Smith's face circulated the internet and furthers this delegitimasation of the Redwing's physical presence.  

All and all, with a stunning 4-1 demolition of the Redwings, the Bruins climbed back into the series and seized momentum as the battle shifts west to Detroit for games 3 and 4. 

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We have our race back: Strength and respect have made sure that Boston still has it's Marathon

They tried to take it from us and they failed.

On April 15th, as smoke made the air in Copley Square thick and ominous and blood stained the sidewalks of Boylston Street we felt that moment of horror and though about why this had happened. And in the days that followed, we learned the names of Martin Richard, Krystle Campbell and Lingzi Lu and we grieved for them and for their families and those who loved them but we did not panic nor did we let this tragedy make us scared.

And even when the Bombers rattled Watertown with their guns and their pipe bombs 5 days after the bombs, we were not scared and we did not panic. We kept our cool and trusted and respected those charge with the duty of protecting us. We listened to the orders they gave when they told us not to leave our homes and once again we were not rattled. And finally, that night when the final bomber was captured, we came out from our homes and cheered for the officers that apprehended this monstrous man and killed his equally monstrous brother.

In the nights after the Bombing and the manhunt that followed, our strength outweighed our weakness and our resiliency showed that our city, our little metropolis founded from an even smaller peninsula on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean was unlike any other city in the world.

In the 1770's it was a colonial version of Boston that housed just over 10,000 people served as the incubator for the American Revolution, spawning fiery personalities like Sam Adams and John Hancock and playing host to the opening shots of that war that ended with the first institution of democracy in a major government since ancient Greece.

As the nation developed around it, Boston expanded both economically and physically. By 1900, Boston was home to over 500,000 people largely because it had added tens of square miles to its geography via the creation of the Back Bay. While New York, Los Angeles and Chicago were still already bigger cities than Boston, it was the sports teams that the city had adopted that added a new chapter to the history and lore of Boston's culture.  

Our teams, our players epitomized the dynastic strength of Boston as almost across the board all of our teams won. We saw the Red Sox and players like Ted Williams and Carl Yastrempski help dominate baseball's early years while the Bruins and Bobby Orr won Stanley Cups at an unfathomable clip during the days of the 6 team NHL.  

But all of those teams have had low points as well. The Red Sox lost Babe Ruth to the Yankees and promptly went 80 years without a World Series victory while the Bruins slogged through almost 20 years of repugnant hockey played in the late 1990's and early 2000's. Finally it took the Patriots over 35 years to even get to a Super Bowl never mind win it which they finally did in 2001.  

As great at the moments like Bobby Orr's 'the goal' and the Red Sox triumphant World Series win in 2004 were they were balanced by very bad moments like the Billy Buckner error that prevented the Sox from winning the World Series or all those Bruins defeats at the hands of the Canadians in the 80's.

But that is not true with the 5th major sporting field that Boston has fostered. Through its history, the Boston Marathon is a consistent sport that for over a hundred years ran without interruption. Because it is a road race with thousands of participants, this race does not have ups and downs. Rather its excitement never dies and even when Kenyan runners won 20 straight marathons at the turn of the 21st century, there was no heartbreak on the part of the fans who watched it simply because this race, the magic of it, went beyond just the runners themselves.  

For hours, the marathon unifies the people who watch it, bringing fans from far and wide out onto a winding trail of roadway and humanity to watch and cheer for people they do not necessarily know. 

The marathon is a part of Boston and a symbol of what the city, is, was and will be. The day it is run - Patriots Day - is one of the most Bostonian days on the calendar and reminds all who run it of the sacrifice and valor of the men who fought for the sovereignty of the United States. But last year, the Tsarnaev brothers seemed to forget the strength of this city. 

They tried to break our spirit, they tried to halt this race but we would not let them. 

In fact, the attacks on last year’s marathon that killed 3 and wounded over 200 others partially had the opposite effect to what the brothers intended. The response to the attacks produced heroes rather than enemies while the police control of the situation initiated a trust in the authorities rather than anger about how they had let this happen. And finally, rather than ending this fabled race, the bombing made it stronger. 

Due to popular demand, the BAA added over 6,000 new spots to the race while also allowing all who were not allowed to finish at last year’s marathon to compete this year without qualifying again. 

For example, the race held off the retirement of Dick and Rick Hoyt who returned for one last race in the wake of what happened last year. Additionally, the bombings nearly brought 66 year old Bill Rodgers out of retirement. 

“After the bombing last year, I wanted to run Boston this year,” the four-time Boston winner said Friday. “And I was in pretty good shape for an old-timer, 66 years old."

While Rodgers strained a hamstring and could not run, he vowed that he would be there for the weekend. 

“Runners, you have to come back,” Rodgers said. “You have to come back when you get knocked down. That’s what happened there with the bombing -- and Boston, you can’t keep [the city] down. You can’t keep marathoners down.”

But the most famous American runner in history is not alone in his being moved by the Boston response to the attacks. Two time Olympic Gold Medalist and finisher of the Boston Marathon Joan Benoit Samuelson spoke to ESPN about her thoughts on the attack. 

“It will be bigger and stronger and more celebrated than any other Boston before, at the same time, we’re all mindful of what happened last year and we’ll never forget that. So many of the survivors have been so inspiring in their quest to reclaim their lives.”

Just over 1 year ago, the Tsarnev brothers tried to take our race down. They tried to make us scared and tried to ruin one of the most unique aspects of Boston tradition and we did not let them. As Boston watches the Marathon on Monday, they will recognize and feel proud of the fact that their resilience has made it so that the Boston Marathon had only been made stronger by an attack on it 1 year ago. 

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One Year Later: The worst and best of humanity

Endurance: The Boston Marathon in it of itself is a stunning test of human power. It pits armatures against a course that has been known to take down professionals and involves so many people that they are forced to start in 3 or more waves of runners that rush across the starting line as if they are all one living breathing creature.  

And it is like this that they run for hours winding past barricades that hold back even more people who are inspired by this spectacle, this testament to that human power. So the runners run forward and they are carried by the cheers of these spectators and the counting clock and the nearing finish line. But in their way they tackle climbs and steep downhill’s that sting these runners aching legs and apply even more stress to their deeply tested joints. They huff and puff through the scream tunnel in Wellesley, the halfway point of the race and then turn towards Boston where they know an even louder cheer and an even bigger crowd will await them. 

These thousands of runners climb heartbreak hill and then eventually break towards Boylston street where they know their race has ended and their life has added a new chapter not only to their own story but also to that of this storied race. 

116 years after the Boston Marathon was first run, 23,000 runners participated in its 2013 renewal and much like nearly every marathon since the dawn of the information age, this event took control of much of New England and was covered extensively by most every news outlet in the area.

The race began with a moment of silence for the victums of the Sandy Hook Shooting and started on time with the first wave of wheelchair racers leaving Hopkinton just after 9:15. Roughly 15 minute after that, the band of 51 elite female marathoners got on course and 30 minutes after that then men started the race. As the armatures started later in the day, this race seemed perfect. Unlike prior races, the temperature this time around teetered around 50 degrees Fahrenheit and caused these runners to race in a rather comfortable atmosphere.

This air temperature also helped the elite runners who finished the course in very quick time with Lelisa Desisa winning the men’s race, Rita Jeptoo winning the women’s race and Hiroyuki Yamamoto and Tatyana McFadden winning the men’s and women’s wheel chair race respectively.

As these runners crossed the line there was jubilation on their part and congratulations from these fans gathered at the line to not only cheer for them but also their loved ones who would soon be finishing. 2 hours later however, the story unfolding in Copley Square would change from one about endurance to one about…Terror: At 2:49 April 15^th, 4 hours and 9 minutes after the 117^thBoston Marathon began, Boston was forced to deal with one of its darkest days since Revolutionary War times. That moment, that midafternoon moment was frozen in time by the terrifying work of two men and the two weapons of mutilation they constructed, planted and detonated in the middle of a massive crowd. That moment, 2:49PM, April 15^th, 2013, was the last moment that 3 innocent victims witnessed and the moment that hundreds of others will associate with the physical and mental pain that it brought them.

But as we think back, as we remember that terrible day, we did not know any of that. Within minutes of the attack, it was reported that 2 explosions had occurred at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Many reports said that it was due to an electrical malfunction but as helicopters flew in and began grabbing aerial footage of the affected areas, the sidewalks stained with blood and littered with mangled bodies it soon became a pretty obvious fact that this was no accident. These explosions were ones set off with an intent to injure and maime.

As they recognized this, many medical personal and even more unassociated bystanders rushed to aid those who were injured. But for those not immediately dealing with those who were felled by the blasts, they had their own problem to deal with. At 4 hours race time, roughly 5,000 runners were still on course unaware of what had happened at the finish line. As they quickly surveyed what had just taken place and then began to realize the possibility of additional attacks, the decision was made to end the race right then and there. 8 minutes after the bombs went off, a police lockdown was set up around the finish line and many runners were actually stopped by police forces near Commonwealth Avenue.

Across this, the metropolitan center of New England, confusion and fear ran rampant. The Boston Bruins who were scheduled to play a game against the Ottawa Senators cancelled the game less than an hour and a half before it was scheduled to begin and most everyone in and around the city began frantically watching news outlets devoted entirely to the crisis. They desperately tried to contact their loved ones.

But elsewhere, the brutality of the bombing was seen not through a TV screen but instead first hand by doctors. In the end 264 people were transported to 27 Boston area hospitals where injures caused mainly by nails and what were described to be metal ball bearings inserted in the bombs were heroically dealt with by doctors at some of the best hospitals in the world.

But for far too many, medical care could only go so far. Upwards of 16 people lost limbs as a result of the bombing, even more suffered severe burns and countless others needed blood transfusions to save their lives.

But in Boston, this week of terror was not over. Less than 4 days later, news outlets once again lit up with stories regarding the terrorist attack in Boston. This time however, the sounds these stations were relaying to their viewers were those of gunfire. To provide background to this aspect of that week, things started around 10:30PM when it was reported that an MIT police officer had been shot and killed in his vehicle by two unidentified men. Going chronologically, this rampage was updated about a half hour later when a Chinese entrepreneur was carjacked near Boston University. According to a later report done by the Boston Globe, the man was approached by two younger men wearing black hoodies. They told him that they would taking his car and not to resist because of one thing. They were “the Marathon Bombers”. Over the next hour or so, the bombers and their hostage drove back into Boston where they forcibly withdrew 800$ from the man’s bank account and then released the man at a Shell gas station about 15 minutes after midnight.

But for these bombers, the icy grip of terror that they held over this town would soon be forced to cease in its existence. As it stood, the owner of that car left his cell phone on and in the car with the bombers. After escaping, he rushed to a pay phone where he called 9-1-1 and notified them that his car had been stolen by people claiming to be the bombers. Using a stunning blend of technology and brains, the FBI (who had taken over the investigation the day before) located the two brothers and dispatched an army of SWAT and local police officers to an urban neighborhood in Watertown. At 12:45 AM on Friday April 19^th, the two men opened fire on police officials, discharging hundreds of rounds of ammo and hurling several “grenades” and at least one additional pressure cooker bomb at officers.

For a little less than 15 minutes, those officers and the bombers traded an estimated 200+ rounds of ammunition, awakening those within immediate earshot of the firefight and plunging them into a state of confusion and terror that seemed out of place in such a peaceful part of this country. For those not within earshot of the standoff, they were provided with a harrowing bout of news coverage and conflicting stories set to explain what was happening at that moment. Even by mid-morning we did not know for sure what was happening. According to some, the bombers had robbed a convenience store and were confronted by police officials who did not know who these men were quite yet. Then there were rumors that the bombers had been camped out in Watertown and that officials had raided their home. And yet, the overall consensus was that however all this happened, there had been a gunfight in Watertown, at least one police officer had been injured, one of the bombers had been killed and another had fled the scene.

And then, at roughly 9AM, Governor Deval Patrick did the unthinkable. Using reverse 9-1-1 calls, Patrick ordered residents of Watertown, Allston-Brighton, Boston, Belmont, Brookline, Cambridge, Newton, and Waltham to shelter in place, meaning that they were not to open their doors to anyone except uniformed police officers with official identification.

For nearly 12 hours, it was illegal to go anywhere in the biggest city of New England and so we all sat a watched the news, stewing in our fear and wondering what more could happen to this city.

As the day went on, we learned about that MIT officer killed by the bombers (Sean Collier) and watched as the story about this whole situation began to solidify. However, the citizens of Watertown were once again startled by gunfire around 6PM when officers located and worked to arrest that one surviving bomber who was quickly reported to have been hiding out in a boat in a Watertown resident’s back yard. This time, the violent response by Tsarnaev was minimal as after being pelted with a volley of shots and at least two flash grenades designed to stun Tsarnaev, he eventually gave up but still did not leave the boat. It would take an close to 2 and a half more hours before a negotiator managed to get Tsarnaev to leave the boat.

For Boston residents, what happened during those 5 days in April changed their lives forever

For Martin Richard, Lingzi Lu, Krystle Marie Campbell and Sean Collier however, their lives would end during that span.

For their families, their city and this country, the theme of the ensuing, months and even years was and will be…Healing: Before the lockdown was initiated, before the names of those killed in the attacks were listed, Barack Obama addressed the country. “The American people will say a prayer for Boston tonight,” he said. “And Michelle and I send our deepest thoughts and prayers to the families of the victims in the wake of this senseless loss. Today is a holiday in Massachusetts -- Patriots’ Day. It’s a day that celebrates the free and fiercely independent spirit that this great American city of Boston has reflected from the  earliest days of our nation. And it’s a day that draws the world to Boston’s streets in a spirit of friendly competition.  Boston is a tough and resilient town. So are its people. I'm supremely confident that Bostonians will pull together, take care of each other, and move forward as one proud city. And as they do, the American people will be with them every single step of the way.”

On that day, in a cavernous Boston church, the President of the United States of America addressed this city and tried not to end the pain its people felt that day but instead tell them that this nation was praying for them, wishing for them, and questioning just as they were what had just happened.

As the terror of April 15^th melted away, the brutal scene at the finish line – those sidewalks stained with blood, the barricades beside the street scattered as those trying to help the fallen frantically tried to scale them – was cleaned up and the sterile, official process of crime scene investigation was initiated, we were left with one piece of this tragedy that would take much longer to eliminate and frankly might never be eliminated. That is, the feeling of loss and sadness unique to tragedies like these. In those days and weeks after the Marathon Bombing, the days and weeks after the Watertown Shootout, the names and the stories were highly prevalent in Boston. We learned about 3 people, Martin Richard, Krystle Campbell, Lingzi Lu and Sean Collier and said that these people were too young. We heard about people who lost limbs, had their lives changed forever and felt sorry.

For many, once the 9 block area around the finish line was reopened a few days after the attacks, the finish line became sacred ground. People from across New England flocked to Coply Square to show that they wanted to respect and honor the victims of these attacks, slowly creating a massive shrine to those that fell in Copley Square. Leaving behind sneakers inscribed with messages of condolence, baseball caps bearing similar messages and massive poster boards where people wrote messages to anything in relation to the attacks, we saw a long, winding example of how tragedies like these bring out the best in many.

As church services continued to ring out across Boston, as the sports world joined together to honor the victims, there were no grand instances of people tarnishing this healing with bloodthirsty calls for vindication and war. We cheered when Djhokhar was captured the Friday after the attacks and moved on with our thinking of the victims. Though we boycotted Rolling Stone when it published its article and cover about the bombings, months after the attacks, there were no riots and once again no consuming anger. In Boston we are tough but there was a recognition in those days that anger was what drove these brother’s to terrorism and therefore was a feeling without place in the minds of those trying to cope with the attacks.

As the people of Boston now find themselves 1 year removed from that week, they know that forgetting those events would be dishonoring to the 4 people who died and hundreds more who were injured. Instead, they, we understand that remembering, refusing to forget those emotions is the path this tough town must take.

For years to come, endurance will be an emotion annually felt throughout Boston and the sports world as this grand race is run again and again. At the same time, the race will from now on also serve as a reminder of our toughness and our weakness, further healing what will never completely vanish. All that we may hope is that never again we feel the emotion of terror that we felt that day. 

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One Year Later: A season of victory and healing

Part One: The Team

There are times in each of our lives when the happiness we feel cannot be described. But in this case the thing is in most cases what makes that kind of happiness so indescribably memorable is the negativity and horror that preceded it. Not a single person in Massachusetts escaped last April without bearing the newly opened scars solicited by the brutality of the Boston Marathon Bombings of April 15th 2013.

What happened that day killed 3 people and mutilated the bodies and minds of hundreds and even millions across this city and nation. You didn't have to be there in Copley Square, we all felt it, we all panicked and sat glued to our TV screens as Boston was shut down and the Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics cancelled all their games for the week.

"They killed an 8 year old, my son is 8 years old." David Ortiz was reported as saying in the dugout prior to his now famed "This if our f*****g city" speech.

But while the days separating us and that dreadful day turned into weeks and then months we never forgot but we did move forward turning instead to focus on a team that symbolized the spirit of this town. You can knock the Red Sox down but you will never take them out.

They were the only team in baseball without a losing streak longer than 3 games and never went almost 3 months without losing back to back home games. They came back in 27 games. They nabbed 13 walk-offs and above all lost just 65 games. When you look back, so many facets of this, longest season in Red Sox history made it memorable.

You had the beards which were spearheaded by a Mike Napoli who, despite his struggled clocked 23 home runs in 2013. You cheered as David Ortiz recorded his 7th career 30 home run season and you watched with glee as he began his near 10 game playoff tear following his Game Two ALCS grand slam. We watched Johnny Gomes who spent all year magically making something out of nothing en route to a spectacular 5 pinch hit home runs. His Red Sox were 8-1 in games he started in this playoff run.

And then there was the defense.

Boston sported 2 gold glove award winners in 2013 as Dustin Pedroia played what seemed to be a career year in the field committing just 5 errors in 160 games played. That translates out to about to just .031 errors per game. But in a similar fashion to David Ortiz, Peady lead by more than just example. He was a driving force in the clubhouse and knew from day one the potential that the Red Sox had cultivated in the offseason.

"He had faith in the team even in spring training. In mid-March, Pedroia went to dinner with his agents, Cherington and the team’s owners. They were discussing his eventual contract extension, but he made it clear, even then, that he expected the Red Sox to win – and win big." Fox writer, Ken Rosenthal said in an article the day after the Sox victory. 

As for Boston's other gold glove winner: Shane Victorino, he was as good if not better than Pedroia. But in in a different way.  

Shane notched 122 starts in 2013 and batted just 6 points shy of 300. He belted 61 RBI's in 2013 providing quite a security policy for leadoff hitter Jacoby Ellsbury. As for the defense that got him recognized in the postseason gold glove voting, he made a name for himself by plying right field the same way one would play center. That more often than not translated into running headlong into walls as if the simply were not there.  

Yet the Flyin Hawaiian always came up smiling. Apparently, he likes the feeling of broken ribs. He committed just 3 errors while being responsible for 264 of the near 1,700 that the Red Sox recorded in 2013. That is approximately 15% of team outs all recorded by a man who played just 110 games and spent that time in the outfield.  

He represented his city as well joining the ranks of supporting Bostonians with his post-game comments following Game Six. 

"We are affected in the tragedy, Boston strong" Shane Victorino screamed extending his fist high into the air thereby saluting his town. "That's all I'm gonna say!"

Yet while all the additions that the Red Sox made in preparation for what would be their 3rd Championship run in the past 10 years it was the subtractions that may have went the farthest towards bettering this team for the long run. Fact is, most Sox fans expected the run we saw this year...2 years before it happened. Between Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzolez and the expected excellence of the entire Sox pitching staff, the Red Sox were the overwhelming favorites to win it all in 2011. But as we know things did not work out that way. The 2011 Red Sox surrendered a 9 game September lead in the wildcard to miss the playoffs all together. As Bobby Valentine guided the Sox to a 69 win season in 2012, Kevin Youkolis was dished away to Chicago and nearly 200 million dollars’ worth of contracts were unloaded on LA via the famed Josh Beckett, Adrian Gonzolez and Carl Crawford trade.

Beckett and Gozolez in particular were the polar opposite of the surprisingly compatible clubhouse that existed this season. Fact is they would have scoffed in disgust if you asked them to grow a beard and as they did in 2011 they might have even killed the healthy team building themes that brought this 2013 club together.  

By completely erasing the bad names assembled on that so called 2011 "dream team" it made room for the actual dream team of 2013. Sure there were the additions: Mike Napoli, Johnny Gomes, Koji Uehara, Shane Victorino, David Ross and even Mike Carp but as you look at the numbers it would be safe to say that what made this team so great was the resurgence of the talent they had already cultivated.  

That fact is highlighted best when you look at the gleaming numbers of the Red Sox starting pitching. 

The only difference in starting pitching personnel between 2011 and 2013 was the presence of Josh Beckett. Lester played in 2011, Buchholz and Lackey too. They all were there yet in 2013, those 3 Sox went a combined 33 and 24 through  73 starts in 2011 while flipping it all around 2 years later with 37 wins and just 22 losses. Not only were the 2013 Red Sox putting up wins but they were doing it in every single sort of situation that was put before them. They never quit and when they needed to any Boston starter could realistically be asked to play 8 innings and they would do just that. Much like the framework that guided the LA Dodgers to their spectacular mid-season turnaround over in the NL, the Red Sox relied on the relentless work of a whole host of aces to bring home the wins.

The 2013 Red Sox season was just 15 days old when the bombs went off but even then, even with just over 2 weeks of real game action under their belt, the Red Sox knew one another like family and were ready to take their city on their shoulders and do whatever was necessary to give their fans something to cheer for. 

They hit 178 home runs, came to bat 5651 times and won a total of 108 games over 7 months of near game per day action.  

Yet when future generations look back on this, the greatest statistical, team turnaround in the history of American sports, it will be that last win those last 6 runs and that Koji Uehara strikeout that is remembered. 

The Boston Red Sox are the World Champions but for the hundreds of human beings throughout this organization that has now won 3 titles in 10 years it cannot be stressed how much more occurred this year than could be summed up by those few words. 

Part Two: The Fans

Prior to 2013, there had been 2 championship parades in Red Sox history.

In 2004 the entire city of Boston was gripped with delirious excitement as despite the violent riots that occurred following their championship just days earlier, millions took to the streets to celebrate the breaking of one of the most depressing curses in sports history.

3 years later we were back again cramming ourselves into the streets of Boston for yet another (abridged) rolling rally parade. But in 2013, the feel was different. Unlike in 04' and 07' no one expected the 2013 Red Sox to win in the fashion that they did this year and for that reason, the excitement felt throughout Boston was almost concrete.

I was there, feeling the atmosphere and forgoing the pain of waking up at 7 AM on a Saturday all in hopes of simply being there. I was and throughout my years of living I have never been in a situation quite like this. From the first minute you even made a move towards the city of Boston the presence of Red and White pride was firmly personified. As one marched through the train stations of greater Boston you could not see the floor as from above all that was visible was a sea of humans clad in jerseys all breathing a sense of relief, satisfaction and pure joy almost 2 hours before the parade even started.

People came from far and wide to see today's celebration but for many, it meant so much more. As tough as Bostonians are what happened on April 15 was a moment of true terror in which the very worst and the very best of human nature was showcased. Our leaders flocked to Boston to heal our frayed nerves and remember our murdered friends but despite the words of Barrak Obama and regardless of the comedic sympathy expressed by nearly every TV host nationwide it was shown following the attacks the true unifying prowess that the insanely competitive joy of sports can bring to any city.

When you look back on this year it is the "One day closer to the parade!" phrase repeated time and time again by this Sox team, it was the "This is our F*****G city battle cry made by David Ortiz and then the screams of joy we witnessed as the dugouts emptied time and time again throughout the 2013 season. Amidst all the sadness, the action, the wins and the commitment to the game on the part of the Red Sox provided relent to the pain of those involved with the tragedy. And that was the greatest gift this team made to its city.

“There is nothing better than to be Boston Strong,” 29 year old parade attendee Liz Perkins aid. “We said it all season.” 

Pedroia backed up that mentality earlier on when during the pre-parade rally he took to the podium and delivered as much a speech as his miniature frame could muster.

“We played for the whole city, what the city went through. Hopefully, we put a smile on ... everybody’s face. It was special. We wanted to do this and make it right for everybody.” He said.

Once Pedroia and his teammates took to the streets, they were rapidly assaulted with a defining barrage of cheers and fists raised to the air as one. We saw Johnny Gomes and Mike Napoli showing their happy blend of childish nature and obscene immaturity as they pumped up the crowd and we felt Jacoby Ellsbury feeling of the awkward situation while fans near the Prudential Building screamed "STAY! STAY! STAY!".

But the celebration was interrupted for a necessary acknowledgement of sorrow as the first of the 25 duck boats crossed the Marathon Finish line.

The boats came to a complete stop before any did cross the, still painted, yellow and blue finish line. Through the crowd it could be seen that the World Series Trophy had been taken from its home on the boat with Jacoby Ellsbury and as it was, Johnny Gomes and Jarrod Saltalamaccia unceremoniously took to the street and came to a halt before the finish line.

With the trophy in one hand and the famed 617 Jersey that had hung in every Boston dugout since the attack in the other, the two items were placed on top of one another and after some adjustments of the jersey, Gomes stood back and put an arm around Saltlamaccia as the near 6,000 in that portion of the route sang an assisted version of God Bless America. Tears were plentiful.

But alas the parade soon resumed as in congruent action with that, so did the cheers, the high fives and the constant ringing of "BOSTON STRONG"

There were people hanging from windows, people piling into tiny balconies and a human behind every window with a view of the parade route. I Phones dotted ones view of the road and it was seen how nearly every one of the 2 million attendees of this parade were politely jockeying to be right as the edge of every inch of the near 4 miles of barricades assembled along the route. You could see through the confetti and hear through the musical yells of the Dropkick Murphys that these Boston Red Sox were genuinely thrilled to be a part of this city wide celebration. As for the fans, the indescribable roar of delight that echoed from Fenway to Copley Square, from Boston to Cambridge and from the parade route into the living rooms of the millions more watching from home described it all.

We are the champions. No matter how tough we may be, this win more than any other involves more than  the 25 men in the Red Sox locker room. Just as the Marathon Bombing changed the lives of anyone who calls New England home, this Championship belonged to us all. And that is a fact.

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One Year Later: The sports world helps heal broken hearts and bodies

Across the country, sports are like religion. Many grow up in families, thrilled by the idea, the complexity and the obsessive qualities that being a sports fan comes with. Much of the nation grew up in ball parks or stadiums, watching a whole host of players teams and future and current legends duke it out in the atmosphere that only sports can create. And then these children grow older and try this wonderful idea out for themselves, picking up a baseball glove, a hockey stick or a football for the first time and wondering what it would be like if one day they got to a place where they would be one of those heralded athletes, playing before thousands in a jam packed stadium.  It is like this that they work. They work for years and years putting in long hours of aerobic strengthening, limits pushing and thousands upon thousands of throws shots or catches before one day they either give it all up or win it big.

While it does not matter what sport you play, the Boston Marathon is a kind of sport that takes more work than any other. You see, even now, mankind still had that lingering ability to fight, to block someone from getting what you want to retain as are necessary traits in say football or basketball. But what they are not born with, what one must have to work immensely at before even beginning to gain proficiency is the idea, the endurance and tolerance for brutal, grinding pain that comes with running for 4 hours for 26.2 miles.

There is something magical about the marathon.

But the sports world, the fans of the “Big Four” remain connected to the marathon. They appreciate the sacrifice that its athletes go through and at the same time revel in the stories that those athletes bring with them. It is like a partially severed friendship that sports fans have with the Boston Marathon. It is run just once a year meaning that many who follow the sport do not have much more to focus on once race week has passed. And yet every year we watch the race and are amazed by what it showcases and we are reminded of how good this race it to its competitors, to its fans and to its city.

Unfortunately, the will of our race was tested 1 year ago and even this, this race based solely on overcoming daunting obstacles and powering through the most debilitating of setbacks needed those around it to help rally. We needed help to rally and while they were not the only ones who provided that help, in this sports crazed city of Boston, the support of the sports world helped up get back up.

You see, within hours of the attack, the quotes of condolence had already begun to fly as #PrayForBoston soon became  the link between all these tweets and such. In Phoenix, Coyotes forward and Boston native, Shane Doan rushed to his equipment manager before his the team’s game against the Sharks and wrote the phrase “Pray for Boston” on the heel of his right skate.  As that game and many others took place the night of April 15^th, moments of silence and support were almost constant across the board. But the MLB went above and beyond. On the nights of April 15^th and 16^th, 2013, every MLB game paused during the 7^th inning stretch to sing Sweet Caroline in honor of Boston.

By Thursday of that week, Sports Illustrated devoted their entire cover to the events at the Boston Marathon placing a picture of three police officers sprinting towards the finish line, guns drawn as 74 year old runner,  Bill Iffrig pealed himself off the pavement after being knocked down by the blast. Elsewhere, the New York Yankees elected to hang a banner on the front façade of their stadium showing both the Yankees and Red Sox logos beside the words “United we Stand”.

Across the United States, the shock of the Marathon Bombing and the Watertown Shootout days later was never far from thought. But as we recovered, as we learned the names of those killed in these attacks, the sports world rose up, embodying the phrase “Boston Strong” and showing that all forms competition and rivalry are suspend when the worst of humanity shines through like it did that day in April. 

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One Year Later: The evolution of 'This is Our City"

David Ortiz stands at the center of Boston sports. He stands at Fenway Park, microphone in hand as the 30,000+ fans packed into the stands await whatever words of condolence or uplift he has prepared.

It turns out he has prepared none and yet here he stands, preparing to play in his first game since a freak achilles injury the year before with this microphone in his hand and a city on his shoulders. Less than 5 days earlier, that city upon his shoulders had been attacked by two men with a kind of hate in their minds we hate to admits exists and at that very moment, less than 1 mile and a half away, yellow tape blocked off Copley Square and broken glass and disheveled barricades littered the Square’s sidewalks.

And so as David Ortiz prepared to speak that day, no one expected or even wanted him to say this it was all alright. What we wanted, what we were given was an emotionally charged battle cry that said to this city, those vile monsters who bombed us and the entire world that we were Boston Strong.

“Alright Boston,” he said pausing “this jersey that we wear today, it don’t say Red Sox, it say Boston.” He paused again, contemplating what to say next “We want to thank you mayor Menino, governor Patrick, the whole police department for the great job they did this past week.” With one final pause, the camera on NESN’s broadcast of the game panned over to the line of officials standing beside Ortiz. But the focus soon returned to him.

“This is our f***** city and nobody is goanna dictate our freedom, stay strong” He boomed slamming his first to the sky and walking off to a booming echo of strength and power that never left the hearts of Bostonians.

The speech took 51 seconds and yet is was the turning point in the story surrounding the Marathon Bombing. On that day, one of the suspects in the bombing has been killed while the other had been arrested. Our plight our fear had been ended and as we cheered in delight as that man, David Ortiz, screamed the most famous F-Bomb in Red Sox history to his city we proved to ourselves, to the world that we were strong.

And Ortiz was never punished for swearing on national television. He should not have been punished because he really did speak from the heart with that phrase. And yet he prepared nothing.

It was reported by Boston sports writer Gordan Edes Ortiz said in the dugout prior to the speech “The boy they killed was 8, my boy is 8”.

Ortiz of course was talking about Martin Richard who became a martyr for peace after he was brutally killed by the second of the 2 bombs.

So was that the inspiration. Maybe. You see, this speech was something not said out of anger, it had fear, understanding that 3 people who were far too young were killed by this bombing and all of it was intentional.

During all the pauses he took during his speech, Ortiz was thinking, going over in his mind the words he was about to say as he knew that he needed them to be perfect. And they were.

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One Year Later: Matt Reis makes his greatest save

For those who know the name John Odom, you know what he went through, how close he came to death and the story of the heroic man who saved his life.

But if you have not heard this story, I summarize it by saying that once again, in that sole moment there was exhibited that nearly impulsive instance where when the worst of humanity strikes the best of it emerges. 

John Odom was a man just weeks away from his official retirement. He was 63 and father and law to famous New England Revolution goaltender Matt Reis and was in Boston to watch his biological daughter and wife to Reis, Nicole, experience the realization of her dream to run the fabled Boston Marathon. Her family, both legal and biological were intent on supporting her in her athletic triumph.

But as reported by the Boston Globe back in July, an eerie series of events surrounding watching that race and the grizzly happenings that would interrupt it were discretely responsible for the saving of Odom’s life.

As all of Nicole’s cheering squad members made their way to their spot to cheer at the 13 mile mark, they realized they had forgotten their encouraging signs back home and so they were forced to go back there before settling down and waiting for Nicole to reach their cheering point. There they retrieved a sign and Reis remembered that he had forgotten to put on a belt that morning. He remedied that and then left with the family.

Knowing that Nicole had already passed the 13 mile mark originally marked as a viewing point, the family moved to the highly populated finish line where they arrived mere minutes before the first of two bombs went off.

“It was perfect weather for the runners,” said John Odom. “It was a wonderful feeling being there, seeing all the runners coming in, everyone cheering."

According to his account, Reis took his small daughter up on his shoulders and moved a few feet away from Odom. That move very well might have saved their daughter’s life.

As they waited for Nicole, the bomb suddenly went off knocking both of the Odom parents to the ground and brutally injuring John. According to Reis’ descriptions, he and John’s wife Karen immediately jumped into action tying Reis’ belt tight around Odom’s leg as they worked to keep the damage caused by a 4 inch slice of metal from killing John. Odom “turned grey” and solicited panicked screams on the part of Reis and Karen for their patient to stay awake.

Long story short, he did and though John Odom received enough blood transfusions to equal the amount of blood in the bodies of 2 people, a series of 11 surgeries and 2 and a half weeks of life in a medically induced coma helped save John Odom. And yet we know, the doctors who saved John and the entire soccer world knows that none of that would have been possible without those seconds of cool headedness and heroic knowledge of human health and emergency care exhibited by Matt Reis. 

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One Year Later: Chronicle of Boston Marathon Bombing and the period of healing that followed it to be published in 48 hours before exact anniversary

1 year ago, our city was attacked.

Attacked by faceless criminals who lacked compassion or even a single acknowledgement of human life. These criminals, one of which is now dead committed a brutal act of terrorism that left 3 people dead upwards of 15 without limbs and hundreds of others riddled with muscular and skeletal trauma caused mainly by an assortment of metal projectiles inserted into the bombs. On April 15th 2013, at just after 2 Pm, the Tsarnaev Brothers tried to tear our city and our most unique sporting and cultural event of the year apart.

But we did not let them. After they massacred and maimed the people of Boston with indiscriminate weapons then turned the streets of Watertown into a late night warzone as they fired upon heroic police officers and SWAT team members who tried to stop them we in Boston proved that we were and still are strong.

Sure we needed help and sure there was sadness, times of great greif and anger over what had happened and that will never be forgotten nor diminished. But at the same time, we responded to this tragedy the only way that we in the birthplace of the USA could. Strong.

We never quit, we never asked for pity. We remembered and we we respected the victums of the bombing while working towards a state where nobody on earth may ever have to deal with this kind of brutality, this kind of truly unnecessary attack ever again.

As we approach the 1 year anniversary of the attacks, Go Titletown will publish 5 articles remembering and chronicling the period of healing and strength that followed the attacks.

Furthermore, in symbolic action, the last of these posts will be posted as the point in time exactly 6 seconds after the 1 year anniversary of the first bombing and 6 seconds before the 1 year anniversary of the second bombing. That moment will be 2 hours past noon and 49 minutes and 14 seconds.

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Thoughts on Bruins vs. Redwings first round series: Important statistics, opinions and roomers about the series

On the same night that Bruins fans celebrated their team's clenching the Presidents Trophy for the first time in over 20 years, their spirits were dampened by the fact that they also were told of their first round opponent in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Ever since the Bruins' stunning 14 game point streak back in March vaulted the Bruins to the top of the NHL's standings, Bruins fans have been able to legitimately consider a best case scenario as actually being a probable reality. As the best team in the Eastern Conference, the Bruins would play the worst team inside the playoff structure. That worst team would be whoever held the second wild card and for almost a month now, only two teams have been in the running for that. Those teams are the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Detroit Redwings.

Now the best case scenario referenced earlier is obvious one you take into consideration the relationship the Bruins have with these two teams. Even in one of their worst seasons in recent history, the Detroit Redwings are one of the few teams in the hockey world that can beat the Big Bad Bruins at their own game. Starting from the back, they rely on strong play in net on a nightly basis while defending the blue line and fighting hard in physical board battles. Guys like the terrifying Nicklas Kronwall, lead that physical assault in Detroit, banging bodies down with yard sale body checks that more often than not leave Kronwall himself down on the ice and the victim of his check making sure all of his bones are still intact before moving again.

Though they have had the fewest fights in the entire league this season, the Redwings will not stand for any physical transgressions against their team and will not hesitate to finish checks relentlessly once someone on their team has been harmed. Also, their entire team has been taught the wonders of selflessness as despite their scoreing more goals than almost half of the Eastern Conference, the Redwings do not have a 30 goal scorer. Instead their balanced attack has spawned 6, 15 goal scoeres and a list of 15 players who have found the net more than 5 times in the season.

They get under your skin, they draw penalties and they ruthlessly back check as all of their forwards play like Selkie Trophy Finalists. Sound like the Bruins? Yeah and in a way, they are even more Bruin than the actual Bruins.  

In the 4 games they have played together, the Bruins have won just 1 game losing thrice to the Redwings all in regulation. What is even more terrifying is the fact that the Bruins have not beaten the Redwings in their own building since 2008.

But we have been here before. Now I will not go as far to say that a Presidents Trophy winning team will be an underdog in a series against the worst team in the playoffs but what I will say is that in series labeled as tough the Bruins have surprised us before most notably last year in the Eastern Conference Finals. Do not worry Bruins fans, we definitely a chance. 

Now logistically, while the actual schedule for the series will not be released until later this week, it is suspected that the series will kick off with a 7:00PM Game One in Boston on Thursday night. As for Game Two that one will be largely influenced by the time constraints of NBC's schedule and will most likely be locked down as a Saturday afternoon manatee in Boston. 

So now it is time to wait.

The Eastern Conference Quarterfinals will begin within the week and no matter the opponent, the Boston Bruins will go into the season with one of their best chances for a Stanley Cup in years.

Cheer loud and cheer proud Bruins fans because it is time for playoff hockey!

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The Inaguration: Bruins win Presidents Trophy in brutal clash with Buffalo

The NHL first awarded the Presidents Trophy in 1985 to the Edmonton Oilers. Since then, it has been given annually to the NHL team with the best regular season record and yet, though they had been given 27 cracks at taking home the shiny trophy, on just one occasion had the Bruins won it.

Instead, in the first 27 years of the trophy's existence, teams like Detroit, Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary dominated the regular season and by default dominated ownership of the Presidents Trophy. The Redwings won 6 times in the 13 seasons between 1994 and 2008, while the Oilers, Flames, Chanuks, Avalanche, Stars, Blackhawks and Rangers all won twice. Sandwiched in there were solo Presidents Trophy wins by the Sennators, Rangers, Penguins, Blues, Sharks, Capitals and Sabers.

Prior to today, the Bruins were included on that list.

But now, after a triumphant but brutal at the same time 4-1 victory over Buffalo, the Bruins 101 point Presidants Trophy winning 1989-1990 season no longer stands alone as the highest seed the Bruins have ever achieved going into the playoffs.

Having already played 80 games out of 82, the Bruins came into Saturday's game with Buffalo with 115 points and the knowledge that a win of any sort would give them a 5 point cushion on the Ducks for the number one spot in the league. Basically, it came down to one simple fact, if the Bruins won, they would be the Presidents Trophy winners.

But for a team that has spent the entirety of its 6 year, Claude Jullian coached string of dominant seasons, they could easily be labeled one of the most regretful recipients of the Presidents Trophy in the Award's history. All season long they have villinised individual accolades never getting to high and never getting to low. Even during their run of 14 games without a regulation loss, the Bruins were constantly muttering about how they could get better and how their game still was not good enough for the playoffs.

Even after they won Saturday, humility was almost involuntary within the Bruins locker room.

Also they say it starts with the top. “The Presidents' Trophy identifies a team that’s been good for the regular season; the other thing is, it also guarantees home ice as long as you’re in the playoffs,” Head Coach Claude Julien said “So those are two things we’re really proud of, but that’s where it stops.”

“The next step is we still got to do some work here in order to get the trophy that we all really want here.”

1st line center David Krejci also had things to say about not saying anything about the win and what it gave the team.“It is a nice achievement, that’s for sure, but that wasn’t our goal going into the season. So one thing that’s good about it is as long as we’re in the playoffs, we’ll be starting at home, so that’s good. But we’re trying to accomplish something different, so we have one more game tomorrow, and we need to play a really strong game and feel good about our game going into the playoffs.”

For a few frustrated reporters who should have known better than to try to get some Presidents Trophy oriented quotes out of the Bruins, they quickly realized that the only thing the team would elaborate on was the list of players they lost in game. After scoreing his 30th goal of the season, hugely successful Bruins center, Patrice Bergeron failed to get back in the game in the 3rd period. 

And yet his worrisome departure was not the worst thing that happened to the Bruins and the bodies of their players in the final period of the game. 

Just over 7 minutes into the 3rd period, Bruin 4th line winger Danial Pallie turned up ice with the puck and failed to see Sabers defenceman Jake McCabe barreling towards him. Though he was not carrying much speed up ice, Pallie lunged forward in an attempt to launch a targeted pass to one of his line mates. As he did so however, McCabe delivered a massive but clean hit on Pallie launching him back onto the ice and halting play immedealty.

As Pallie pealed his dazed figure off the ice, two Bruins rushed in to give McCabe a piece of their mind while still more gathered around Pallie to see that he was okay. He was not. Though he tried to get to his feet on his own, Pallie lost all balance and fell backwards only staying upright because of the 4 players and referees around him who grabbed his body before it fell back to the ice. 

Pallie who has already suffered 2 concussions this season while scoring 9 goals on the crucial Merlot Line, was by far the biggest casualty of this game and the Presidents Trophy that was rewarded at the end of it. He will be sorely missed and will remain a huge question mark going into the Bruins first round series with Detroit. 

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