#PrayForBoston: The Reaction of The Sports World to Yesterdays Attacks

   This weeks cover of Sports Illustrated was simply a blank page with, aside from the word Boston written across the page.

2 days before this years Boston Marathon I posted a post to this blog entitled When Boston Forgets About Baseball. At that point I was referencing the ever true fact that on a yearly basis, our city casts aside the big 4 sports than on every other day of the year, instead turning their focus to the famed renewal of the annual Boston Marathon. Yet while every year we turn our eyes to the Boston Marathon at about 2:50 in the afternoon yesterday, even the athletic aspect of the Boston Marathon took a back seat. As said before, at exactly 2:50 in the afternoon, on April 15th 2013, 2 deadly explosions ripped apart Copley Square, killing 3 and injuring almost 2 hundred. Yet through this terrible tragedy one quote repeated by media members, witnesses and victims alike, seems to symbolize the compassion and heroic response of those surrounding the events. "When the worst of human nature strikes, it also showcases the best of human personality"

What happened yesterday was terrible, and while no amount of consolation can sooth the grief of the families of those killed or seriously injured, the sports community not only in Boston but across the nation has done its best to at least let those victimized by these attacks know the world feels their strife, and shares their unimaginable pain.

Below are some of those acts.



When he heard the news, Phoenix Coyotes Defense men Keith Yandle rushed to his equipment managers office with a sharpie, heavily bent on inscribing his support for Boston on his right skate.


Early yesterday morning, one of Chicago's mainstream news papers ran this picture, proclaiming it's support for Boston sports and in-turn its community.



During warm ups before yesterdays game between the Red Sox and Indians, the self adopted "anthem" of Boston Sweet Caroline was played across the entire MLB as that gesture of kindness was followed by a MLB wide moment of science.

 
 Within Hours of the bombings, the Boston Bruins and Boston Celtics did not delay as, when it came to the Bruins postpone their game with Ottawa and for the Celtics all out cancel their game scheduled to be played tonight. "You feel helpless and it's an empty feeling. It's tough to say what you felt, other than you're proud so many people are helping out and you start to hear back from people that you know and they're OK and you're happy. But, obviously, you know there are a lot of people who are getting different news and you feel pretty heartbroken for them." Bruins D-Man Andrew Ference said as the Bruins in particular flooded the world with an out poring of support. 

Just after midnight, this last night new Patriot Danny Amendola pledged to the world that for every catch he makes this season he will donate 100$ to the Marathon Relief fund and for every dropped pass he would donate 200$. If Amendola has a season similar to the one he played last year, he would end the year with 63 catches or intern 6,300$ not to mention any dropped passes.   

 

Despite playing today's game as scheduled, the Red Sox announced that over the next few days, the jersey picture above would be hanging in the Red Sox clubhouse. The 617 represents the Boston area code. 

On September 11th 2001, without a doubt the deadliest terrorist attacks in world history rocked the nation but more specifically New York City. 12 years later, 2 twin bombs blasted apart the finish line of the Boston Marathon and for what seems like the first time in so many years Boston and New York stand united, a fact verbalized per se by the banner hanging on the front facing facade of New York's Yankee stadium. (Top right corner of picture)

This is perhaps one of the most heart warming testaments to the sheer fact that what happened yesterday really did break down the boundaries of sports and life, tearing up even the fiercest of rivalries and uniting cities now more connected to one another than ever before. 

It cannot be stressed enough, people were brutally murdered yesterday and while what the sports world has done to support those victimized by the monster who planted these bombs has hopefully helped it cannot change the past.

3 People died yesterday, and that will never be forgotten.

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When Boston Forgets About Baseball: 2013 Boston Marathon Preview

John J. McDermott, Ronald J. MacDonald, Lawrence Brignolia, John "Jack" Caffery, John "Jack" Caffery,Sammy Mellor,John Lorden,Michael Spring,  Frederick Lorz , Tim Ford, Thomas Longboat,Thomas Morrissey, Henri Renaud, Fred Cameron, Clarence DeMar, Michael J. Ryan, Fritz Carlson,   James Duffy, Édouard Fabrer,Arthur Roth, Bill Kennedy, Military Relay, Carl Linder, Peter Trivoulides, Frank Zuna, Clarence DeMar, Clarence DeMar, Clarence DeMar, Charles Mellor,  Johnny Miles, Clarence DeMar, Clarence DeMar, Johnny Miles, Clarence DeMar, James Henigan, Paul de Bruyn, Leslie S. Pawson, Dave Komonen, John A. Kelley, Ellison Brown, Walter Young, Leslie S. Pawson,
Ellison Brown,Gérard Côté, Leslie S. Pawson, Joe Smith , Gérard Côté, Gérard Côté, John A. Kelley, Stylianos Kyriakides, Suh Yun-bok, Gérard Côté, Karl Leandersson, Ham Kee-Yong,Shigeki Tanaka,
Doroteo Flores Guatemala, Keizo Yamada, Veikko Karvonen, Hideo Hamamura, Antti Viskari, John J. Kelley, Franjo Mihalić, Eino Oksanen, Paavo Kotila, Eino Oksanen, Eino Oksanen, Aurèle Vandendriessche, Aurèle Vandendriessche, Morio Shigematsu, Kenji Kimihara , Dave McKenzie, Amby Burfoot, Yoshiaki Unetani, Ron Hill, Álvaro Mejía, Olavi Suomalainen, Jon Anderson, Neil Cusack,
Bill Rodgers, Jack Fultz, Jerome Drayton, Bill Rodgers, Bill Rodgers, Bill Rodgers, Toshihiko Seko, Alberto Salazar , Greg Meyer, Geoff Smith, Geoff Smith, Robert de Castella, Toshihiko Seko, Ibrahim Hussein, Abebe Mekonnen, Gelindo Bordin, Ibrahim Hussein, Ibrahim Hussein, Cosmas Ndeti, Cosmas Ndeti, Cosmas Ndeti, Moses Tanui, Lameck Aguta, Moses Tanui, Joseph Chebet, Elijah Lagat, Lee Bong-Ju, Rodgers Rop, Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot,  Timothy Cherigat,  Hailu Negussie, Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot, Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot, Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot, Deriba Merga, Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot, Geoffrey Mutai, Wesley Korir,
Bobbi Gibb, Bobbi Gibb, Bobbi Gibb, Sara Mae Berman,  Sara Mae Berman, Sara Mae Berman,
Nina Kuscsik, Jacqueline Hansen, Miki Gorman, Liane Winter, Kim Merritt, Miki Gorman, Gayle Barron, Joan Benoit, Jacqueline Gareau, Allison Roe, Charlotte Teske, Joan Benoit,Lorraine Moller, Lisa Larsen Weidenbach, Ingrid Kristiansen, Rosa Mota. Rosa Mota, Ingrid Kristiansen, Rosa Mota, Wanda Panfil,  Olga Markova,  Olga Markova, Uta Pippig, Uta Pippig, Uta Pippig, Fatuma Roba, Fatuma Roba,
Fatuma Roba, Catherine Ndereba,Catherine Ndereba, Margaret Okayo, Svetlana Zakharova, Catherine Ndereba, Catherine Ndereba, Rita Jeptoo, Lidiya Grigoryeva, Dire Tune,
Salina Kosgei, Teyba Erkesso, Caroline Kilel, Sharon Cherop,

116 races, 162 winners both male and female  (the female races wasn't added until 1966 while the men's race has existed for the full 116 years) For well over a hundred years, the Boston Marathon has been the pinnacle of long distance running and with its 117th renewal set to take place this Monday, a city usually caught up in the epidemic of history and success that the Red Sox and Celtics employ, and the brutal body checking, fighting and tackling of the Bruins and Pats, will turn its eyes away from its mainstream sports instead coming to focus on the legendary annual contest that is the Boston Marathon.

As said before in it's 116 races, between the women and men there have been 162 winners (names above are all the winners listed chronologically by men and women's races respectively), yet while when 363 days ago when Wesley Korir coasted across the finish line and kissed the blue painted road that signified his completing the race, he was in fact, running across the same line on the roadway that was run upon 117 years ago, nothing about the modern race could even be compared to the one that conceived this great legacy back in the spring of 1897.

At that point in time, the sport of marathoning was a relativity new concept and as  the news surrounding inception of the Modern Olympics over in Greece running strong, stories of a sport literally born from a myth began to surface. That sport was the Marathon. Legend has it that midway through the Athenian war with the Persians (said to take place around 490 BC) the Athenian army found themselves pinned back by the mighty Persians. Desperate for reinforcements, the Athenian generals called upon a well built messenger their fighting for their army, sending him to the walls of Sparta to beg the ruthless Spartans for their help in the war. Over the next few days, Phidipides would run a combined total of around 420 miles running back and fourth between Sparta and Marathon, before upon the Athenians somehow winning the battle sprinting the 26.2 mile distance between Marathon and Athens itself hence the name "Marathon".

Back to the modern Olympics. This sport was intriguing, appealing to many as is seemed to symbolize perhaps the toughest event at that years Olympics. Over the few months between when that 1896 Olympic Marathon was announced and when it was actually held already established distance runners from across the world  each looking for a greater challenge flocked to Athens and toed the line before running what is widely regarded as the first professional modern day marathon.

When all was said and done, the race had been a huge success  and when 1 year later these same runners were looking to do it all again, this time there was no Olympic outlet, this time there was Boston.

At that point in time the United States was still just 32 years removed from the very Civil war that had threatened to tear it apart. Grover Cleveland was the president of the nation and, heck, Babe Ruth was just 2 years old. On that the 3rd Monday in the 4th month of the 1 thousand 8 hundred and 97th year since 0 AD, 15 eager Bostonians set fourth looking to concur the 24.5 mile course set out before them (the marathon wasn't lengthened to its current distance until the late 1920's). For some it took almost the entire day to beat the rolling hills and sharp turns of the Boston course yet for eventual winner John J McDermott the race was over in just 2 hours 55 minutes and 10 seconds.  But the past is the past, and while at its beginning Boston mustered just 15 participants for its inaugural marathon this race has grown into so much more as in the words of Honolulu marathon president Jim Barahal "Finishing the Boston marathon is probably the athletic achievement of a lifetime for many people." And really that's no exaggeration.

For 117 years the Boston Marathon has been a symbolism of amateur and elite excellence, a simple testament to persistence and athletic prowess and without a doubt the ultimate goal of elite runners from across the world. For 117 years when the 3rd Monday in April rolls around, while the games go on, Boston fans drop their Sox jerseys, their Tom Brady trading cards and all else, instead taking to the streets near Copley Square and the roads running into it, grasping words on cardboard signs or chants of inspiration scrawled across colored bed sheets as they fight to get as close to the  road as physically possible.

Every year on the 3rd Monday in April the Marathon makes Boston fans forget about baseball, and that's not easy to do.

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NHL Power Rankings Week of April 11th

1) Pittsburgh Penguins




Alright, the near historic 15 game unbeaten streak is over, yet over their past 10 games, the Penguins, seince devoid of star center Sidney Crosby (Crosby went out back in march with a broken jaw) have gone 8 and 2, and with the addition of Jarome Iginla don't seem to be slowing down, thus earning themselves the #1 spot in this weeks power rankings.

2) Chicago Blackhawks


After loosing their streak of 24 games to start a season without a regulation loss, the Hawks struggled going 5 and 5 over their next 10 games. Nonetheless with that spell behind them and guys like Patrik Kane and Merriam Hossa back with their excellent scoring touch, the Blackhawks are pushing for the playoffs and as the season draws to a close are a fully 2 points ahead of Pittsburgh for the best record in the league and fully poised to win the Presidents Trophy, (best record in the league).

3) New York Islanders



Less than 24 hours ago when I began writing this post, there was no way in my mind that I would have the Islanders this high in the Power Rankings. Yet a day later here they are, so what happened? A little after 9:30 last night, a game between the Bruins and Islanders that should the B's come out on top would have seen them clench their 6th straight playoff spot. Yet NY shut Boston down last night,coasting to a 2 to 1 win and improving to 9-1-1 over their last 11 games thus ensuring their spot as the hottest team in the east and 3rd place on this weeks power rankings.

4) Boston Bruins

 5)Montreal Canadians

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Red Sox sellout streak come to a close

The streak that never was. For 820 fraudulent games (post season and regular season) ,  baseballs most beloved ballpark, was "sold out."

The brainchild John I Taylor, Fenway Park has certainly lived up to the historic profile set fourth for it to fulfill. Almost a 101 years after its christening game on the 20th of April a mere 47 years after America's civil war, Fenway now remains the oldest ballpark in all of Major League Baseball, and in just the past few decades alone has found itself at the center of it's fair share of storied moments. The iconic dynasty of guys like Manny Ramirez, and Curt Shilling and his blood soaked sock, the historic pitcher/catcher combination of Tim Wakefeild and Jason Varatek, and so many others have defined our team, lifting our hearts to the sky, before in the case of a certain first baseman named Bill Buckner, in a certain 1980's game with the Mets nearly bringing us fans to tears.

Yet through all that disgrace and distaste, no defining fixture in Fenway's near regal history, started out seeming so wonderful yet ended shrouded in so much deep dark degrading disgrace, as did this 21st century sellout streak. For nearly 10 years, (9 years 11 months exactly) all 37,499 seats in Fenway were supposedly sold out. Yet while according to the Red Sox front office, when game day rolled around trying to get a ticket to that days game would be completely impossible, at several points over the course of those 10 long years, impossible wasn't so impossible.

For 9 years and 11 months, over 3500 days, 820 games, almost a 100 of which involving playoff action, Fenway was, "sold out", yet in truth it wasn't. This streak started out as a wonderful testament to the undivided loyalty of Boston's fans to its team's yet once Boston began it's now 3 year long streak of, no doubt about it, terrible baseball it became widely evident that no matter what the Sox front office said, they were not selling out games as even through the distorted vision of a nightly TV broadcast it was evident that a some points hundreds of seats remained empty.

At just after 7:00 this evening it was officially announced; while it stretched itself out to a sellout streak 820 games strong, Red Sox fans would not see a 821st. That is not until the 10th of April 2022.

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Red Sox Annihilate Blue Jays

According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, the word annihilate literally means to vanquish completely: and after watching today game between the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays, a 13 to nothing Red Sox  victory makes the Blue Jays seem fit to bee deemed  completely vanquished to me.

As said before, Boston beat the now last in the division Jays, 13 to nothing today, thus representing not only their first  game since a 14 to 13 extra innings loss to the Angels back in august of last season where they notched 13 or more runs but also the first time since all the way back on September 6th 2011 when they tallied a mange of victory at all comparable to the 13 run strong one achieved today. Today was a game of sheer team performance as all together the club blasted 6 home runs, amounting to 7 RBIs, yet while the lineup wide long ball epidemic was a defining factor in this game, one man in particular put more punishment on the 5 an a quarter ounce than another: Will Middlebroks.

 "I feel like we were already going to have momentum going home and playing at Fenway in front of our fans. Everyone was already really excited about that, but to go in rolling like this with 13 runs and Jonny going seven shutout innings, it's huge." 24 year old Middlebrooks said following the game. And while in that post game interview the 3rd baseman credited pitcher Jon Lester with the glory of conceiving the teams recent explosion of defense and stellar momentum surges, a three home run day for Middlebrooks might be a little more deserving of the praise of his fans.  All night long it seemed like the ball was constantly flying off the bat of young Middlebrooks as in addition to the trifecta of home runs the 3rd basemen went 4 for 5 at the plate his only at bat in which he failed to reach 1st going down as a sac fly and in turn his 4th RBI of the day.  

At this point last year the Red Sox were 6 and 0 and last in their division. 1 year later, they stand alone as the number 1 team in the east, and the crazy part is they haven't even played a single home game yet. in less than 24 hours, Boston will take the field at Fenway fueled with a  boat load of momentum and an unimaginable promise to do something they havent in so many years now. Make the playoffs.                          

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To fight or not to fight?

" To be or not to be, the is the question, weather tis' nobler in mind to suffer, the sings and arrows of outrages fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing en them" ~Hamlet Prince of Denmark

 Alright, 400 years later, times have changed. Yet even now the simple meaning remains the same(all be it scaled down a couple notches). So many years ago, a man now regarded as perhaps the most brilliant mind in the history of the preforming arts set fourth, placing pen to paper and encsribing a deeply meaningful line that even now, while many barely understand what it means, is known by almost any and all who have even heard the name Shakespeare. Fact is in that famous soliloquy Hamlet prince of Denmark was questioning the meaning of life and while weather or not fighting in hockey is good or bad is a far more petty question, the outlining backbones to the meaning of that historic speech still can be applied to our modern day hockey query.

As Bruins fan fondly remember, our beloved team still remains just 2 years removed from their first Stanley Cup Championship in almost 4 decades, and even better with the exception of big additions like Jaromir Jager, Dougie Hamilton and Anton Khudobin, coupled with the loss Tim Thomas, the inner core of the Bruins squad remains unaltered. Yet while close nothing has changed on the front of the Bruins roster core, the style of play the B's have so prosperously employed for 3 years now couldn't be more different.

You see when the books closed on the 2011 regular season, Boston had tallied 71 fighting majors, an average of just under a fight per game. They had 5 players with more than 5 fights 3 of witch threw down the gloves more than 10 times, as throughout that season it seemed that everybody, and I mean everybody was fighting.  Mark Recchie, David Krejci (Krejci fought twice), Daniel Paille and even Tim Thomas all recorded at least one fighting major. In that season it seemed like a fact, when Boston beat up their opponents by way of the fighting major, they beat their opponents by way of pucks ending up in the back of the net.

As said before, the Bruins fought at just under a fight per game clip, (.85 per game to be precise), a statistic that only slightly diminished as the Bruins finished their historic playoff run with an additional 5 fights going 3 and 2 in games in which the gloves were dropped. Coincidence? I think not. Boston won it all that year and with their roster not changeing much, one would think neither would their aggressive physical style. Yet when the Bruins were eliminated from the playoffs last spring, it had. Less than 1 year after marching around the Vancouver ice, Stanley cup held high, not only did Boston's sheer number of fights diminish also did the distribution of wealth if you will. With 61 fights over the course of their 2011 2012 cup defense Bostons fights per game average dropped from .85 down to .74 as in addition to that Boston had just 4 players muster more than 5 fights only two of which threw down more than 10 times. Yet while their physical style worked wonders for them a year earlier, Boston won 3 more games last season than the did in 2011, a fact that gives meaning to the argument to abolish fighting in the game of hockey. Finally we arrive at this the final month of the 2012 2013, NHL season. At last check, Boston has dropped the gloves 23 times in 37 games meaning that if this were a full 82 game season they would be on pace to notch about 51 fights, that's 10 less than last season and 20 less than 2011, and like 2012 and unlike 2011, the Bruins are now on pace to yet again with the less fights power out more and more wins.

With 24 victories already, Boston is projected to win a whopping 53  games, that last season would have been good enough for the best record in the league, yet astonishingly Boston now sits 2nd in their division 3 points behind the leading Montreal Canadians.

For 3 years now it has been an enigma of a question, a far from simple inquiry of what really fuels a teams success, brutish bouts of barbaric aggression or a simple pacifist approach where the main goal is not to stain the ice red with the claret blood of their bruised opponents but instead focus on the new contemporary style of play prosperously employing the skills surrounding crisp passing and fleeting explosions of speed and mighty moves. It's a simple question with a massive answer. Do your drop the gloves and start throwing hay makers or keep your mitts glued to your hands?





* All fight statisitics from http://www.hockeyfights.com/teams/3

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Bruins and Senators post near centennial of shots!

Alright, Jarimor Jagr hasn't even got here yet but he is still making an impact. Just after 2 o'clock yesterday afternoon, Peter Charelli took to the podium to make his second announcement of a major signing in the past 2 weeks, the only difference between this deal and the one preceding it was that when the dust all cleared, the whole thing would not turn out to be a false alarm. On march 28th it seemed that Jarome Iginla was coming to Boston yet at the last moment the Pittsburgh Penguins would rapidly enter the picture and steal   the future hall of famer from the Bruins grip. 6 days later we sure found our reconciliation. As said before just after 2:00 local time yesterday the 3rd, our beloved Bruins found the next best thing snagging a man who seems to be the answer to all their problems: Jaromir Jagr.

Yet on a day that many couldn't envision to get any weirder, well, it did. At 2 Jaromir Jagr left Dallas, 5 hours later the puck was dropped on the Bruins and Senators  second to last meeting of the year thus kicking off a near 2 hour period of some of the greatest hockey the Bruins have played in quite some time. Coming into this game, the Bruins hadn't scored a single 1st period goal in 7 games thus dating back to a March 17th meeting with then red hot Penguins. Yet as if to add insult to injury 5 of those 7 games had  seen the Bruins allowing their opponent score first thus negatively contributing to their less than acceptable 3-3-1
win-loss-OT loss, and while last nights game started off the same way as those 5 in recent Bruins history that was pretty much where the similarities ceased to exist. Exactly 40 seconds after allowing Senator Colin Greening to backhand his 7th goal of the year past Bruin net minder Anton Khudobin mighty Zedeno Chara took a pass from Milan Luchic blasting a shot on net that found the stick of David Krejci and in turn the anticipating twitch of the twine that occurred milliseconds later as the puck smacked into the back of the net and tied the game.  

 "It was decent. Sometimes you need some dirty goals.” Krejci said when asked about the goal, and really when it comes down to it he couldn't be more right. 

Nonetheless, while Krejci basked in the glory of his 9th tally of the year, fans just barely had time to sit down before a great passing play between Tyler Seguin and Brad Marchand led to an empty net tip in for 21 year old Seguin,snagging not just his 12 goal of the year but shockingly Boston's 1st 1st period lead since the 16th of March. Nevertheless, the game went on and after that flurry of goals mere minutes into the game, the pair of opposing goaltenders, (Khudobin for Boston, and Lehner for Ottowa) stood tall as the 2 teams fired off a combined total of 41 shots on net (22 for Boston, 19 for Ottowa)  , in just that 1st frame alone. When all was said and done, after 20 minutes of action, the  Bruins held a 2-1 lead and even after a 2 to nothing shutout of Buffalo less than 48 hours earlier they were without a doubt playing some of their best hockey of the year. Yet the scariest thing  was they weren't even getting started. 

 The second period commenced and slowly but surely, the shots piled up as that ever climbing shot tally became a defining story line in last nights game. 20 minutes later, save for another barrage of rubber towards both net minders not much had changed, still a two 1 lead for Boston yet when the Boston bench turned and gingerly walked off towards the locker room one vital player had already made that same trip far to early. That player: Patrice Bergeron.

Now amidst his 9th NHL season, Bergeron, the league's reigning Selki award winner might very well be without a doubt one of the most complete player not just on the Bruins but in the entire NHL. Nevertheless, all good things will come with a price and in the case of Patrice Bergeron, that price takes the form of a bruise where your one really does not want one. Your brain. Over the course of that near decade long career  Bergeron has sustained 3 major concussions and when the smoke cleared on last night's 2nd period, he had felt another. As of the most recent update a timetable for his return has not yet been  announced.

The clock was ticking and with 1 frame left in the game the Boston Bruins who had already notched 34 shots on net were in a position to, if they could lock this one down end up with one of their best efforts all season.

"We're professionals" captain Zedeno Chara said following the game. And after seeing their 1 goal lead punched away by way of a Andre Benoit slap shot they worked to hold true to that identity. The clock ticked away, and much like they had all night, the boys in black continued to pound away at  the Ottawa net before with 10:21 elapsed in the 3rd some great work forward of the goal line saw the puck squirt out to Nathan Horton and allow him to quickly backhand it past Lehner for Boston's 3rd of the night and eventually the game wining goal.

When it all ended, Boston had compiled an epic 50 shots on goal that combined with Ottawa's 47 would show up on the stat sheet as almost a hundred total shot on net. "We're professionals" Big Z said and after last night's shooting gallery of a game, for the first time in quite some time they have finally embodied that widely used adjective.

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