The Top Boston Sports Stories of 2009 – No. 1-5

So we’re here…sitting on the doorstep of another year sure to bring plenty to talk about, both on the field and off. With four teams now fully competitive and New England athletes competing in individual sports like MMA and all of the Olympic events, it’s great to be a New England sports fan, even with the sub-zero temperatures this time of year.

The past 12 months have brought us another slew of games, decisions, play-calling, personalities and rivals to argue about at bars, barbershops and board rooms. Things like 4th and 2, whether to re-sign Jason Bay, the Evil Empire buying a title, the NHL Winter Classic and more were on our minds, lips and keyboards and thanks to the glut of sports media here, we have no shortage of outlets of which to get opinions from (including this one!).

We’ve looked at the Honorable Mentions and No’s. 6-10 on our list of the top Boston sports stories of 2009. Now as we prepare to welcome 2010, let’s say good bye to 2009 and the top five stories in Boston sports of the last 12 months.

5 – Harrison and Bruschi retirements, Seymour trade signal end of a defensive era for Patriots

Hey, look at it this way: the New England Patriots’ losses have been the networks’ gain as Rodney Harrison (NBC) and Tedy Bruschi (ESPN) both effortlessly slid into the role of “football analyst” to begin the season, flashing those million dollar smiles on faces that look like they’ve barely seen a combined 28 seasons of NFL action.

Once upon a time, the two were damn good football players too.

After patrolling and policing the Patriots defense together for six years (Harrison joined the team in 2003) and celebrating two championships together, Harrison and Bruschi both hung up their shoulder pads this summer and the Patriots have suffered for it. While their stats near the end of their careers may have not got headlines on the Monday recaps, there is no doubt that Bill Belichick’s defense has been in search of consistent leadership during this 2009 campaign. Combined with the surprising preseason trade of defensive mainstay Richard Seymour, this is a defense in serious transition.

There are positives. Even in a season where he’ll likely miss three games, Pro Bowl nose tackle Vince Wilfork has been a presence on the line and is making a case for a Albert Haynesworth-style payday when it comes time to ink a new deal this offseason. Young buck Jerod Mayo is evolving into the linebacker we are dying to have become a mega-star in New England.

But the secondary never has been fully addressed since Asante Samuel left town and once highly-touted free agent signing Adalius Thomas has evolved into more of a team issue than a team player. This group has their moments – like this past Sunday against Jacksonville – but in games against Indianapolis and New Orleans, they got handled badly. To lose all three of those guys at once was a huge deal as their presence alone was essentially an extension of Belichick on a player level.

Leaders take time to develop and personnel like Wilfork, Mayo and even Brandon Meriweather have shown they have the stuff to evolve into Double-B’s go-to guys. It just might be a while until they become the three-headed monster that Harrison, Bruschi and Seymour were for so many seasons, a monster that inspired the rest of the group to jump on for the ride. They get to start their own playoff journey and try in just a few weeks.

4 – Kevin Garnett hurts knee, misses 2009 NBA Playoffs

One of the toughest things in sports is to repeat as champions, but with the nucleus still intact and another year of maturity for one of the best young point guards in the league, the Boston Celtics had as good a chance as any to go back-to-back and win their 18th title. Even with the loss of the versatile James Posey, the C’s began the year at 27-2 – the best start in NBA history.

Then in February, things changed when spiritual leader Kevin Garnett injured his right knee in a game against the Utah Jazz. After missing 14 games, there was still reason to be optimistic as it looked like Garnett would be back for the playoffs. However, fans woke up from their dream abruptly when Garnett was shut down for the season after coming back for just four games. He would eventually have major knee surgery, but returned on time and has been as good as ever in ’09-’10.

Even without him, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo and the rest of the Celtics advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals and arguably were a KG away from defeating the Orlando Magic in Game 7 and getting a rematch with the Cleveland LeBrons. Offseason rumors were that Garnett would have played if the Celtics had advanced, but this was never proven and finds its place in Celtics lore.

The injury was a hard reminder that seasons are long and that health is always the great equalizer for any team rolling along to the promise land. Just months removed from another Boston icon’s knee blowing up, New England fans felt the pain again with Garnett.

3 – The 2009 MLB Playoffs (aka Hell for Red Sox fans)

If prior to the 2009 playoffs, you had mapped out the worst possible scenario for Red Sox Nation, it’s hard to imagine it could have been any more brutal than what we experienced this fall. Not only did a perennial postseason punching bag finally defeat the Sox in the ALDS, but their blood rival that hadn’t won a title since 2000 (despite spending about $2 billion) actually took home the shiny brass ring and revived one of the more obnoxious fanbases in sports in doing so.

Let’s start with the direct pain. The Los Angeles Angels not only beat the Red Sox in a playoff series for the first time in five chances, but swept them in doing so – culminating in a sad Sunday game that was in Boston’s back pocket until a meltdown by closer Jonathan Papelbon snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. It was ugly, just plain ugly. The bats never did going and there was a general malaise over the team in general.

This team earned their playoff berth, but certainly didn’t battle like one. Something just felt off, didn’t it?

If that wasn’t bad enough, the Yankees won the World Series, earning rings for offseason acquisitions Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett. After spending and spending and spending and spending, they finally did it. Congratulations! That’s what spending that much cash and playing in a Little League-sized ballpark will do for you. (Bitter much? Yes, I am.)

If there’s any positive out of this mess, it’s that it feels like Boston vs. New York might actually mean something again in 2010. Since 2004 and then 2007, the Yankees haven’t really felt like a factor as we’ve been too euphoric in our own championship victories to even notice them making the postseason. But with the sweeping spending last year and the equally aggressive offseason moves this winter, New York isn’t going away and hopefully, Boston isn’t either.

No more joking around with Jeter or A-Rod, Big Papi. It’s time to get serious again…like Varitek/A-Rod serious.

2 – David Ortiz and the great steroids scandal of 2009

We all pointed, laughed and said, “I told you so” when reports broke in February that Alex Rodriguez had tested positive for steroids back in 2003. We then had to slouch, grimace and eat a bit of crow when two familiar names – David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez – were linked to the infamous steroids test of that year and leaked from “the list” this summer.

Not our guys! That’s impossible…improbable…and likely accurate.

Amidst one of the most worst offensive seasons he had suffered in years, Ortiz was faced with one of the worst nightmares a professional athlete can face: a drug scandal. Ortiz denied the reports and in a memorable press conference during a series with the rival Yankees, said he took a variety of supplements and vitamins but never steroids. The story eventually died down to a degree, but the coincidence with his offensive outage was remarkable.

Believe him or not, we now had our own national steroid scourge to deal with. I remember going to San Francisco in 2003 and being amazed as just how much the Barry Bonds bubble was in effect. People simply didn’t care about anything the rest of the world thought about their offensive hero. While there were a smattering of boos at the Fens and on sports radio, the opinion really was quite non-chalant. We finally got our own bubble to live in.

2010 will be an interesting one for Ortiz as it’s his final contracted year in Boston. The man that meant so much for so long could be taking his final swings in a Boston uniform. What kind of bat will we see? Will Ortiz answer Theo Epstein’s offseason call or will he regress? Where is he going to bat in this order? As #34 goes, so goes the Red Sox offense especially if Mike Cameron and Casey Kotchman end up getting the majority of starts in this offense.

We need ya, big guy.

(By the way, notice how Manny just kinda slid on by in this whole mess? Mannywood!)

1 – No championships for first year since 2006

Gawd, we’re spoiled.

Since the Celtics earned their 17th World Championship in June 2008, we’ve experienced a dry spell here in Boston. The past 12 months marked the first calendar year since 2006 and the fifth year this decade that a Boston team hasn’t celebrated a championship.

Say what? The city of Cleveland would love to have just one of the six combined championships the Celtics, Red Sox and Patriots have won this decade and we’re complaining about a calendar year? Yep, that’s right.

Admit it – holiday shopping did feel a bit different with no championship apparel to buy for friends and family. (Well, that and that damn 27th World Series that Yankees team just earned. Too much Yankees merch available around here these days.)

But the Celtics are healthy again and still the beasts of the Eastern Conference despite a horrible West Coat trip. The Patriots’ Brady-to-Welker road show is playoff-bound once again and if Theo’s plan holds up, the Red Sox will see the postseason yet again. So yeah, you gotta feel a bit of hope that championship joy will return to our corner of Mudville (Snowville?) by this time next year….or else it will be two years in a row. Ouch!

Josh Nason is the main writer for Small White Ball, a New England-based sports and media blog. Reach him via Twitter or josh [at] smallwhiteball [dot-com].

The Top 10 Boston Sports Stories of 2009 – No. 6-10

A Red Sox icon finally inducted into the Hall Of Fame, Fenway Park installs a sheet of ice for a bazillion people and a young Celtics star makes sure he’s sticking around for a while…we have the bottom half of the Top 10 Boston Sports Stories of 2009 right here!

If you missed the honorable mentions, here you go. We’ll reveal the Top 5 on Wednesday. Enjoy!

10 – Rajon Rondo signs extension with Boston Celtics

It was a bizarre negotiation that came down to the wire, but in the end, the Celtics didn’t let budding young star Rajon Rondo get away, signing the point guard to a 5-year, $55 million extension in November.

What’s so bizarre about that? How about Rondo being called out by team personnel several times over the summer (GM Danny Ainge revealed he was fined for being late to a playoff game, while coach Doc Rivers made some well-publicized comments)?

Was it just a case of tough love? Maybe, but in this era of the modern athlete, it was a huge risk to potentially not just alienate their point guard from signing a deal but perhaps for the impending season. These days, that seems more like the norm than the exception.

But in a weird way, maybe it worked. The 23-year-old will be sticking around Boston for an important fraction of his career and can continue his evolution in a winning environment. The next few years will be intriguing when it comes times for NBA player movement but at one of the most important positions in the league, the C’s have their man…even if he still needs to work on his free throws.

9 – Boston secures the Winter Classic

Maybe it was the Bruins return to relevance last season OR the success at playing outdoor hockey at Wrigley Field OR the Red Sox ownership knowing the right people OR perhaps it was a combination of all that and then some that earned Boston the right to host the next NHL Winter Classic. Whatever it was, we’re glad it happened as Fenway Park will see some freaking freezing cold hockey action this Friday as they host the league’s annual major single-game event between the B’s and the Flyers.

Since the announcement, there has been a buzz about the game and everyone has been using up their favors in order to get tickets. People are getting together for New Year’s Day parties to watch and for one day, hockey will matter to the mainstream fan here in New England. We’ve known for a while that Boston is a major sports hotbed and getting one-off events like this that bring major exposure and additional revenue to the Hub prove it, even if tickets were near-impossible to come by. I have a feeling, however, that everyone is going to know someone that went, kinda like Ali/Liston in Lewiston, Maine.

Got any extra tickets kicking around?

8 – 4th and 2

Who knew that one call in one game would garner so much discussion? (Well, actually…we knew it would, didn’t we?)

The decision by Patriots head coach Bill Belichick to go for it on 4th and 2 in a 34-28 game against the rival Indianapolis Colts earlier this season had not only Boston buzzing, but the national sports media as well. As you well know, the decision didn’t work out, the Colts scored in like two seconds and went on to win 35-34.

Always happy to rip into Belichick, there were plenty of the usual pundits that took their shots but surprisingly, some also defended him as well, noting his history of brass-balls play-calling that usually worked. Alas, this time it didn’t and the pain stuck around for a while.

But while ‘4th and 2’ was the main driver of the story, it was the questioning of Belichick here by some of the fanbase in New England that was most shocking. The guy that could previously get away with nearly anything because of his track record suddenly had doubters. Perhaps the season itself to that point had helped this sentiment evolve but suddenly, Belichick’s decision making wasn’t bulletproof – the first real chink in an otherwise stellar armor. Like it or not, things changed on that Sunday night.

Even former players like Tedy Bruschi and Rodney Harrison didn’t like the call and said that it sent a message to the defense that it couldn’t be trusted with the game on the line. In a million years, I would have never guessed either guy to speak out against Double-B like that. Belichick was his normal self and the team smartly didn’t question the decision publicly. However, I still wonder if behind closed doors, the defense really did feel slighted.

How the Patriots finish off this season will tell a lot. We know they’re in the playoffs, but how would a one-and-done go over here? Will the questioning increase or go away? What about the next ‘4th and 2’ situation? For better or worse, no one is immune from fan and media scrutiny in Boston and now, Bill Belichick truly understands that. Welcome to the party, pal.

7 – WEEI vs. Sports Hub vs. NESN vs. CSNE: The Sports Media War Heats Up

And here you thought intense competition in sports was only on the field of play.

The fact that major sports media entities in Boston have intensified their efforts isn’t new, but the efforts at which they will go to continue their one-upmanship still is. Fortifying web content was huge as radio giant WEEI redesigned and bolstered their site, while Comcast Sports Net not only relaunched their site but made like the Red Sox and acquired various print beat writers like Sean McAdam, Tom E. Curran and Kevin Paul Dupont to come on board.

It’s like every outlet is attempting to fill out their pitching rotation, signing people that they hope will put butts in front of the TV/computer seats.

ESPN continued their trend of leveraging regional content by launching ESPNBoston.com and signing Mike Reiss away from the Boston Globe to lead their Patriots coverage. Their radio presence also continued to grow with an agreement with WEEI to provide some radio content, clearing the way for some of their insiders to appear on the ‘EEI airwaves. There has been some talk about them fully moving over the 850 AM spot, while WEEI moves to FM full-time but nothing has been announced.

Initially, Peter Gammons was to be part of this package but he decided to leave ESPN to focus on a reduced workload with MLB Network and NESN – a huge coup for the network known for Red Sox coverage. Gammons will contribute both on-air for 50 of the team’s pre-game telecasts and also be an online contributor as well.  The effect on NESN is equitable to what Albert Pujols would bring to the Boston lineup – just awesome.

But the most interesting twist of 2009 has to be the launch of 98.5 FM – The Sports Hub. Meant to be a direct competitor to WEEI, the CBS-owned sports station brought on their own hired guns in Mike Felger, Tony Massarotti, Gary Tanguay, Scott Zolak and the popular morning team of Toucher and Rich from the former WBCN. So far, so good as the Felger/Mazz afternoon drive-time show has been great listening and a nice change of pace from the yelling and screaming of Glenn Ordway’s The Big Show.

With media continually changing, it’s all about polarizing personalities, leveraging online content and overall creating a brand experience. Just using the traditional approaches simply isn’t good enough. Whether it’s airing a game, a newscast or even a special report, everything matters in a sports media saturated market like Boston. Who knows? If 2009 was any indication, 2010 may feel like it focuses more on who brings us the news rather than who they’re reporting on.

6 – Jim Rice inducted into the Hall Of Fame

A generation of Red Sox fans were finally able to breathe as Jim Rice was inducted into the Hall of Fame after a 15-year wait.

If you’re into Sox history, I don’t need to explain to you what a moment this was. The yearly push to include Rice practically became telethon-esque around here with a slew of team personnel, former players and media peeps pleading their cases as to why he belonged, while Rice – a NESN analyst for the past few years- calmly tried to explain his case while staying north of begging the BBWAA to let him in. That was never his style and like Eddie Murray years before him, probably was part of the reason things took so long.

Along the way, many newer fans got brought into the story and pushed for Rice’s inclusion even if they didn’t fully understand why.

The argument for Rice was that while his numbers were not collectively eye-popping, he was a dominant player during a stretch which years later, would be seen as the pre-steroids era. He led the AL in home runs three times and RBI twice, was an eight-time All-Star and won the AL MVP in 1978, finishing in the MVP race five other times. In 16 seasons, he finished with a .298 average, 382 homers, 1451 RBI, over 1200 runs scored and over 2400 hits.

The arguments against? Great player, but not Hall-worthy. Of course, this brought up the valid debate of the criteria to get into the Hall of Fame and one’s perspective of greatness. Comparisons to other players in and not in were brought up and Rice’s numbers were sliced, diced and reheated too many times to recount here. With this being his last chance, there was an impending feeling of closure for everyone involved.

A no-doubt HOF’er? No, but Rice’s inclusion is an interesting and deserved one, given the timeframe, the campaign to get him in and the ultimate result. It worked and Rice’s number is now retired at Fenway Park in addition to a nice bust in Cooperstown. A legion of fans that followed Rice for almost two decades is now vindicated, as is he.

1-5 this Wednesday..

Josh Nason is the main writer for Small White Ball, a New England-based sports and media blog. Reach him via Twitter or josh [at] smallwhiteball [dot-com].

Boston Sports Media Notes: The Content War Has Just Begun

In the span of just a few years, the sports media that covers our little sports nation of Boston has evolved from a sniping, angry mob made up of just a few major newspapers, TV stations and some minor radio influence into a multimedia world of collaborative wonder that has become a cash cow of its own.

And that world is going to get some more residents before it’s all said and done…and soon.

The Landscape

With the explosion of the internet and the de-evolution and financial ruin of print journalism both running point, the Boston sports media market began to take advantage of fan furor following the New England Patriots first Super Bowl win, parlayed that with not one but two Red Sox World Series victories and continued to turn it on after the Celtics’ latest return to glory.

During this period, the media members entrusted to present us with the inside track became stars themselves. Sure, we knew people like Dan Shaughnessy, Bob Ryan, pre-ESPN Peter Gammons, Ron Borges, Bob Lobel and others because they provided polarizing opinions and became standout characters when the newspapers still mattered.

However, it’s completely changed now, hasn’t it? WEEI boasts Glenn Ordway and his group of merry-yelling-men, John Dennis, Gerry Callahan, Mike Adams, Dale Arnold and sportswriter transplant Michael Holley. Comcast Sports Net has Mike Felger, Gary Tanguay and Greg Dickerson leading the charge, while NESN nearly completely focuses on its game-coverage talent like Tom Caron, Kathryn Tappen and to a much-lesser extent, the Cole Wrights and Heidi Watneys of the world.

But when competition increased, so did the desire to partner. WEEI and Comcast Sports Net created dual roles for talent and Caron can also be heard on their airwaves.

The Globe’s Tony Massarotti, Amalie Benjamin and Nick Cafardo can be seen doing analysis on NESN for Red Sox games, while Gordon Edes – now with Yahoo – has been doing some additional in-studio analysis. The Herald’s Steve Buckley and Sean McAdam also can be found all over the TV and radio dial.

And I haven’t even got to the local TV station talent like Butch Stearns and Steve Burton or the ex-jocks like Scott Zolak, Lou Merloni, Steve DeOssie or Fred Smerlas or the proliferation of blogs like this one or even the web content each of these media entities push so heavily these days.

It’s exhausting to think about, but it’s our reality – one that has now spilled over full force into web-driven content and the looming mothership of ESPN ready to touch down for first contact.

But Wait, There’s More!

While news of a print writer leaving for a website isn’t surprising news these days, it was seen as somewhat of a shock when Globe Patriots beat writer Mike Reiss announced he was joining the staff of ESPNBoston.com – yet another new entry into the already-crowded Boston sports content field. The ESPN microsite is going to follow suit from their successful ESPNChicago.com site, featuring all the news, stories and highlights that Boston fans want to hear.

Grabbing Reiss as the first major defector was a smart move, as will be utilizing former local talents like Bill Simmons (seen here), Michael Smith and Gammons for what we hope will eventually be original content (even though Simmons recently Twittered that he will be providing repurposed content for now). The site launches on September 14th – aka Patriots kickoff weekend.

This comes weeks after the launch of a new FM sports station – 98.5 The Sports Hub – as a direct competitor to WEEI. While the sports radio giant has had challengers before, this one comes backed by CBS Sports and started strong out of the gate by pairing Felger with Massarotti and Tanguay with Zolak, anchored by being the flagship of both the Patriots and the Boston Bruins.

So with four major teams and only so many hours in the day, you have two choices for radio, several for television and way too many for written content. And don’t forget about us bloggers and podcasters who keep knocking on the door of relevancy trying to get an invite into the dance. We do a great job at filling in the holes between the big rocks, but still there are way too many of us out here – Boston and beyond.

And amidst all of this? We forgot about you – the fan who all of this is intended for, the rare few that look for opinion rather than try to find an outlet to state your own.

Ultimately, all of the stations and networks and websites are trying to attract your business and hopefully, keep you engaged enough to come back and tell your friends. Is it too much for you? Honestly, it feels like it at times, even for a guy like myself who loves this stuff.

At some point, you simply cannot commit the time to take all of it in or else you’ll fall over in a crumbled, twitching heap due to content overload. (Make sure you leave a comment before you keel over, okay?)

I feel like in a lot of ways, we are at the breaking point and it needs to become more about quality of content rather than quantity. Do we really need ESPNBoston? No, but from their perspective, it makes sense and if they can connect with fans using their massive tentacles and resources, they’ll do just fine.

If not, there will be a rush to the e-door to take their place.

What’s now and what’s next?

Sadly, there is one aspect of this grand landscape that is getting left out: local media. Suddenly, your local sportscaster, columnist or radio station doesn’t compare to the big guns in the 617, do they? With WEEI’s expansion into more New England markets via mirroring and with cable/internet in practically every household that matters, what’s the incentive to go anywhere but with the big media stars who can get the big name that we want to hear from?

Honestly, I don’t have a good answer but there’s still something about the whole situation that saddens me. I grew up in a desolate area in Western Maine, so the local media was everything I had. I couldn’t get WEEI or anything near resembling a Boston sports station and fell asleep every night to WFAN out of New York thanks to the weird way radio waves work. These days, this 31-year-old guy is now a dinosaur.

As the silent war between these media powerhouses gets more intense and more ‘soldiers’ are drafted into the fray, always remember that ultimately it’s your choice as to who gets your eyes and ears. Make sure that no matter when you tune in or click, it matters.

Josh Nason is the main writer for Small White Ball, a New England-based sports and media blog on the MVN Network. Reach him via Twitter or josh [at] smallwhiteball [dot-com].

Despite Game 7 struggles, Celtics and Bruins fans have great seasons to remember

It wasn’t supposed to end like this, not in Game 7, not in our house.

But for Boston sports fans, the knife got plunged into our hearts not once, but twice this week as both the Bruins and Celtics were ousted from the 2nd round of their respective playoffs in front of the hometown faithful. But while it’s easy to point fingers or make excuses as to why these clubs are now out of the postseason, let’s take a look here at what we are dealing with.

The Celtics are coming off a championship season in which they played 26 postseason games and then did a ton of media appearances celebrating that hard-fought 17th World title. Fast forward to this year where an injury-depleted Team Green fought through a grueling seven-game set with the Chicago Bulls and then another seven with the Orlando Magic.

Quick math: that’s 204 games in roughly two years time, not taking into account the preseason games, practices and the overall wear and tear of being an NBA player. It’s nice to think an offseason solves all woes but eventually keeping up the breakneck pace was going to become too much.

And c’mon now: even if they survived Sunday, they would have needed a Lebron James injury miracle to make it to the NBA Finals over Cleveland. You know it, I know it, we all know it.

Need one more stat to get yourself to sleep tonight? The last time an NBA Champion repeated? The 2000-01 and 2001-02 Los Angeles Lakers. The last team to make it to the Finals in consecutive years? The 2003-04 and 2004-05 Detroit Pistons. It’s tough to get there and even tougher to repeat.

With no Kevin Garnett, no Leon Powe and a gassed Paul Pierce, we should be happy with what we got: a gutsy, hustling club that came one big game short of the Eastern Conference Finals. Remember the excitement of those Bulls games and the night Eddie House ripped up the Garden but whatever you do, don’t look back at this season and think ‘failure’.

After all, they did just win a title about 12 months ago, went 62-20 and were the No.2 seed in the Eastern Conference this year.

For the Bruins, this season was really a gift. No one expected them to be this good and certainly no one expected them to be a No. 1 seed going into the NHL Playoffs. For a team that was so reviled and undervalued for years upon years, the ’08-’09 campaign was a real reacquainting with the Boston fans who responded by filling the TD Banknorth Garden night after night.

Better yet, this was an extremely likable Bruins team that had something for everyone. Goaltender Tim Thomas had a career year and broke out of the platoon role he shared with Manny Fernandez early on. Milan Lucic became a cult hero overnight and someone that Cam Neely-starved diehards latched onto.

Younger talents like Phil Kessel, Blake Wheeler and David Krejci became known entities in a city that already had plenty of talents to identify with. Veterans like the Marks (Stuart, Savard, Recchi) and Zdeno Chara played pivotal roles throughout the year. This group made people actually care about them which is pretty amazing considering the lack of interest in them prior to this run.

There is a lot to build on for the Bruins, but for those of us still trying to understand what we’re dealing with, next season is now even more important. There is no more flying under the radar and coming off such a successful year, there are the dreaded expectations that come with that. Fans will expect big things next year and rightfully so – we put our faith and eyes on this team for months. Now we want to know if our investment is going to pay off.

The fact that the man who sucker-punched Aaron Ward and shouldn’t have played in Game 7 scored the game-winning goal in overtime hurts. However, the fact the Bruins got down 3-1 in the series and fought back to a Game 7 is a reassuring feeling and while they got close, it just wasn’t good enough…this year.

In all reality, we’ve been pretty spoiled in this city and damn, it’s felt good the entire time. Three of the four major sports here have crowned champions since 2001, two of them multiple times. Our teams win consistently and cause us to expect more out of them as a result. There is lots of money in being on the winning side of the ledger and the Beantown Four get it.

Yep, it’s been a bad few days but cheer up. The Red Sox are still here and about to open up a big series this week against division-leading Toronto and the Patriots are still the Patriots. While the sting of losing hurts, I’d rather feel the pain than never experience the pleasure…and there’s been a lot of pleasure in Boston to go around this decade.

Now about that David Ortiz guy…

Josh Nason is the publisher and main writer for New England-based sports and media blog Small White Ball. He can be reached at josh [at] smallwhiteball [dot-com].

Boston Bruins to play 2010 NHL Winter Classic at Fenway Park

Another one of the Original Six will get their shot at playing hockey outdoors as the Boston Globe reported today that the Boston Bruins will play in the next NHL Winter Classic at Fenway Park.

An opponent has yet to be named, but speculation is that either the Philadelphia Flyers or the Washington Capitals will be the opponent and not the Montreal Canadiens like originally thought.

According to the report, New York and Philadelphia were also in the running to host the game.

The decision came down to either Fenway Park or Gillette Stadium, but because of potential scheduling conflicts with the Patriots, Fenway got the nod.

The first Outdoor Classic was played in 2003 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, with Montreal downing the Oilers 4-3 in front of 57,167.

Five years later, the game shifted to Buffalo, NY, as the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Sabres 2-1 in front of a throng of 71,217. Last season, 40,818 watched the Detroit Red Wings defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 6-4 at Wrigley Field in Chi-Town.

Boston Bruins make mark during NHL All-Star Weekend

It seems fitting that several of the Boston Bruins made big impressions on an NHL All-Star Weekend held in Montreal, Canada. The Bruins – who enter the season’s second half tied with San Jose for the NHL’s best record – were well-represented during All-Star Weekend.
Here are some of the highlights:
– Rookie Blake Wheeler (left) scored four goals in the Youngstars game and was named MVP. All four Wheeler goals came off Montreal goalie Carey Price, which was kinda cool.
– Goalie Tim Thomas picked up his second-straight one-goal All-Star victory, pulling the Eastern Conference through in the game’s deciding shootout. Thomas had 19 saves on 22 shots – not bad for a guy that wasn’t on the All-Star ballot.
– Defenseman Zdeno Chara recorded the hardest shot in the Skills competition with a 105.4 mph blast.
– The under-appreciated Marc Savard tallied three assists in the All-Star Game and was 3/8 in the Accuracy Competition.
– Milan Lucic was named to the Sophomores Youngstars team, but didn’t compete due to injury.
In a season where the Bruins are exceeding expectations, they had a great All-Star weekend on which to build for the stretch run. They might just be alright after all.
Josh Nason – josh [at] smallwhiteball [com] – is the publisher and main writer of Small White Ball, an all-encompassing New England-based sports blog that began in 2007. You can also read on mixed martial arts, boxing and pro wrestling at brother site RopesRingandCage.com. If you’re using any part of this post, please link back to http://www.smallwhiteball.com. Thank you!

Labels: Boston Bruins; Blake Wheeler: Tim Thomas: NHL All-Star Game; Zdeno Chara; Milan Lucic

Worst Week: A Bad Seven Days in Boston Sports

Listen, we get it. New England fans are hated due to our success and seem to be thought of as a group of dense fools that drink too much, talk funny and relentlessly torment other fan bases due to multiple championships and winning teams.
(Actually, parts of those stereotypes might be right. Keep reading anyway.)
Whether it’s karma or not, there is no denying that the average Boston sports fan had a terrible week. Even with Christmas a few days ago and New Year’s coming up (both great excuses to get together and throw down 12-14 Sam Adams or a fifth of Allen’s Coffee Brandy), the past seven days was a big ol’ glob of bird crap on our shining championship trophy of a region.
> Tuesday: It began with the news in the late-afternoon that the New York Yankees had swooped in and signed first baseman Mark Teixeira to an eight-year, $180 million deal. Why this had specific significance to Red Sox fans was that we fully expected big Tex to be swatting home runs out of the Fens while wearing the home whites. Now, he’ll be in pinstripes and helping the Evil Empire open up a new stadium.
The swiftness and ninja-style signing was what caught us off guard the most, making us upset at what we never had to begin with rather than focus on what we did have. In our minds, incumbent third baseman Mike Lowell was out, Kevin Youkilis was moving to third and Teixeira would be a cornerstone player at first. It was like the day we heard that Alex Rodriguez was traded to the Yankees, another superstar we wanted. New York came in (again) and simply provided a better offer, leaving the front office to have egg on their face and for Red Sox Nation to have a little more red in theirs.
> Wednesday: As fans attempted to deal with the Teixeira news, the Boston Globe reported that Youkilis and the team were far apart on a long-term contract and that they would go to either arbitration or sign a one-year deal for ’09. Normally, this wouldn’t be huge news but when you take Sox owner John Henry’s post-Teixeira ‘monumental challenge’ comments into consideration, the team suddenly began looking cheap. Call me crazy, but I have a bad feeling about where this is going. If Teixeira was worth $20+ million, how much is Youk worth? $15 million? Will that be too much money?
> Thursday: Christmas is supposed to be a day for relaxing and celebrating the holidays with friends and family. The NBA has added a triple-header of games to the tradition and their marquee match-up this year was the Celtics vs. the Lakers, a rematch of last year’s Finals.
With both teams having great years and with Boston riding an 19-game win streak, it was destined to be a great game. Of course, the Lakers won fairly convincingly, breaking the streak and causing national media to essentially proclaim that L.A. was the Finals favorite. So much for celebrating.

> Friday: You’d figure that a day removed from dropping that Lakers game, the Celtics would be ripped and raring to go against an injury-plagued Golden State team that entered the game at 8-22. Well, that didn’t happen as Boston lost its second straight, 99-89.
> Sunday: Two things needed to happen for the Patriots to make it to the playoffs: they had to win at Buffalo and either Miami or Baltimore had to lose. The Dolphins were playing against the NY Jets in the Meadowlands, a game New York had to win to keep their hopes alive. Baltimore got a home game against a surprisingly hapless Jacksonville squad, so it was really up to Brett Favre and company to make it happen. As expected, the Patriots took care of business in Buffalo, winning a game that was played in Hurricane Jack Wilson.
But the Jets just plain sucked, doing just enough to tantalize New England fans but ultimately coming up short. This rivalry is so good for so many reasons and their inability to take care of their business just escalated it. Buffalo also deserves some blame here as their play-calling against said Jets a few weeks ago likely cost the 11-5 Pats a postseason berth. Meh, bleh and poppycock to it all.
Also reported by somewhat irrelevant NBC Sports.com Sunday was that Tom Brady is ‘well behind schedule’ in rehabbing his surgically-repaired knee due to scar tissue that might have to be surgically removed and – the kicker – the ACL and MCL are ‘loose’. I’m not a doctor, but if true, that doesn’t sound good. Of course, this info is coming from a ‘league source’ and reported by Tom Curran. Who knows how accurate it is?
But if true, this might force the Patriots to make an unexpected decision on free agent-to-be Matt Cassel and perhaps put a franchise tag on him if Brady’s not ready. That obviously raises more issues, but I’ll leave those for another day of discussion.
However, things are starting to look up as the Boston Bruins have extended their win streak to nine, their longest since 1993 and that team is green is still playing ok despite their Tuesday loss to Portland. And all in all, given the success that the local teams have enjoyed, we were due to have some low points along the way, so maybe things aren’t that bad after all.
Pass that coffee brandy, will ya?
Josh Nason – josh [at] smallwhiteball [com] – is the publisher and main writer of Small White Ball, an all-encompassing sports blog that began in 2007. You can also read on mixed martial arts, boxing and pro wrestling at brother site RopesRingandCage.com. If you’re using any part of this post, please link back to http://www.smallwhiteball.com. Thank you!

Labels: boston bruins; new england patriots; boston red sox; Boston Celtics, Boston sports;

Top Boston Sports Stories of 2008: #1-10

A star quarterback out for the season. A return to glory. A season full of injuries. A beloved player exiting amidst national controversy. A club previously belittled and mocked making their stand.
And that was just in the last 12 months.
In Wednesday’s review of the 11th-20th ranked Boston sports stories of 2008, we took a look at Bill Buckner’s emotional return to Boston, the Red Sox almost pulling off another magical comeback, a quarterback transforming a shaken fanbase and more. As we look at the Top 10 stories that dominated the region this past year, it’s a smattering among the three major entities in the city and for the first time in a long time, a certain club in black and gold entered the conversation.
Compiled with the help of some trusted advisers and by requesting feedback on sites like Yardbarker, Bleacher Report and Ballhype, here are the top 10 Boston sports stories of 2008, courtesy of Small White Ball.
10) The emergence of Matt Cassel – If you would have predicted in August that some Patriots fans would broach the subject of trading Tom Brady and keeping backup Matt Cassel during this season, you probably would have been tossed in the Charles River. But Cassel’s jump into the line of fire in the wake of Brady’s injury has been much better than expected, causing many to look at a similar time when a young Brady came in for Drew Bledsoe. The Pats likely need to win out in order to make the playoffs, but at 9-5, they’re a lot better than most expected thanks to Cassel.
While the concept of dealing Brady has thankfully subsided, the story of a guy that hadn’t started a game since high school has been an interesting one for a fanbase that is used to dominance – especially coming off Brady’s MVP season just a season ago. The USC product came into this situation at a perfect time as he’ll be a free agent at the end of the season and is likely looking at a Matt Schaub-style payday. Who expected that of out of Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart and Cassel, it would be the career clipboard holder making all the noise?
9) Tex, Tek and what the Sox should do with both – It’s very possible by the time you read this that Mark Teixeira will be a member of the Red Sox and manning first base for the better part of the next decade. It’s also very possible he won’t if you believe owner John Henry. Regardless of what happens, everyone has an opinion. The amount of Teixeira chatter is equal to how GM Theo Epstein should proceed with catcher Jason Varitek. For Red Sox fans, what to do with two guys named Tex and Tek has become a daily discussion point ’round here.
The other threads attached to this unraveling Sox sweater are what to do with Mike Lowell if Teixiera comes on board, who the Sox would have at catcher if Varitek doesn’t re-sign and what the long-term solutions are if Varitek comes back. The amount of chess moves that some with less brain power have come up with (moving Kevin Youkilis to shortstop or left field, trading David Ortiz, having Varitek apprentice a young catcher as if he’s a blacksmith, etc.) are staggering. All signs point to Teixeria coming in, Lowell heading out and Varitek returning due to a weak market and a need on both ends. Regardless what happens, the opinions of armchair GM’s everywhere will be heard.
8) The Boston Bruins play hockey again – Oh wait…they were here all along? Every bright light needs a shadow and the Bruins have been dancing in the dark for a long time. Partially because of owner Jeremy Jacobs, partially because of long-time GM Harry Sinden and partially because of the collapse of interest in the NHL here in the States, the Bruins fell so far off the Boston sports map that the Revolution threatened to take them over. Then, this season happened and things have taken a turn for the better…extremely better.
As of this writing, the Bruins are leading the Eastern Conference with a 22-5-4 record. They’ve won 12 of their last 14 games and are 17-2-1 in their last 20 games. They are dominant at home and posted an 11-1-1 record overall in November. Their goaltending combo of Tim Thomas and Manny Fernandez has been lights out, while Milan Lucic, Phil Kessel, Marc Savard and a host of others have helped knock the opposition’s lights out. The big bad Bruins are back and I’ll be damned if the fans aren’t responding to them in kind. Can the duck boats swim on frozen ice?
7) Jon Lester throws a no-hitter, becomes ace of 2008 season – In September 2006, 22-year-old Jon Lester was diagnosed with a rare form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Three months later, doctors pronounced him cancer-free and he became an unlikely face to associate with The Jimmy Fund, the long-time children’s cancer charity that has become synonymous with the Red Sox. Lester went 4-0 in 12 starts the following year, winning the final game of Boston’s World Series sweep of Colorado. But his starts were excrutiating to watch, routinely lasting five innings and 100 pitches.
Fast forward to 2008 and #31 was a different person, posting a 16-6 record with a 3.21 era. He showed two important ‘ity’s: velocity (consistently mid-to-high 90s) and durability (210 innings). But if there was one start that stood out, it was his May 19th no-hitter against Kansas City, the 18th no-no in Boston history. The emotion shared between coach Terry Francona and Lester post-game was as raw and real as you get in this day and age. In a season where Josh Beckett struggled with control and Daisuke Matsuzaka struggled with respect, Lester became the ace Boston needed and brought his heroic story full-circle.
6) Tom Brady out for entire 2008 season – The second Tom Brady didn’t pop right back up from Bernard Pollard’s tackle, we knew something was wrong. Our miracle man, our Joe Montana, our quarterback was hurt and the season of the Patriots went into the hands of some other guy we barely knew. We hoped that Brady would come back, that he’d be wearing that damn boot for a few weeks and then be ready to throw some bombs to Randy Moss just like old times. But that never happened thanks to a torn MCL and ACL and Brady faded away to some address in California to get surgery and rehab.
Can Brady can come back as good as he was before? Will he be a Daunte Culpepper or Carson Palmer? Will he be in the position to throw 50 TD’s again? Can Tom Brady be Tom Brady? On that September day, the cocoon of success Patriots fans have enveloped themselves in was ripped open and we were all treated to a glimpse of the way things used to be. In less than eight months, we’ll see how things will be. Your guess is as good as mine on how that’ll turn out.
5) The MVP season of Dustin Pedroia – Out of all the positions in baseball, second base is the one that is starting to emerge as a place to look for offensive output. Chase Utley, Dan Uggla, Brandon Phillps and Ian Kinsler are showing that it’s not only shortstops that can be regarded for their ability to swing the bat. Last season, Boston got in on that mix with a prospect that wasn’t highly regarded by anyone else but themselves. He hit .317, scored 86 runs and drove in 50 on his way to earning AL Rookie of the Year honors. No one expected what would happen in his sophomore season.
The 5’7″ West Coast kid finished second in the AL with a .326 average, slugging 17 homers and driving in 83. He ranked 1st in the league with 118 runs, 213 hits and 54 doubles. He started the All-Star game for the first time and won his first Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards. He became only the third player to win Rookie of the Year and MVP in consecutive seasons (Cal Ripken, Ryan Howard) and became the first second baseman to win the award in almost 50 years.
To top it all off, the team bought out some arbitration years and signed Pedroia to a six-year, $40.5 million contract. In a year where David Ortiz was not David Ortiz and despite the Manny Ramirez circus, Pedroia went out day after day and did his job, even batting cleanup on occasion. Now, that’s an MVP.
4) Spygate comes to a close – By the end of the ordeal that involved football, Bill Belichick and videotapes, ‘Spygate’ became a dirty word around these parts and was uttered approximately 2 million times in a span of six months. The story that began in ’07 really got its media wings in 2008 when a former lowly assistant named Matt Walsh decided to get off the golf course in Hawaii and dig out some old tapes he had kept. Claiming he had evidence that wouldn’t make the team look good, the fires raged over what was on those tapes he had. As we know now, apparently nothing of consequence. The push to get Walsh to talk with NFL Commish Roger Goodell was its own story altogether, dragging out over months because of Walsh wanting immunity. Ultimately, it didn’t matter.
Along the way, we got too familiar with Senator Arlen Specter and writer John Tomase, one that was hell-bent on finding some further wrong-doing and the other apologizing for claiming he had a source that said the Patriots taped the St. Louis Rams’ walkthrough practice prior to Super Bowl 36. We got too familiar with analysts opining on how the Patriots cheated and what you could summise from tapes. We got a smug Belichick claiming he misinterpreted the rules. Finally, we got closure. Until compiling this list, I hadn’t thought about Spygate in months. I can’t wait to forget about it all over again.
3) The Manny Affair – Back in August of 2007, I wrote a column called Manny: The Final 14 Months. I speculated on what things would like as we rounded the bend of his final contracted season with the Red Sox, but I didn’t seen anything of this coming.
Perhaps I should have, starting with the signing of Scott Boras as his agent and Ramirez’ erratic and eccentric past. It made too much sense for everything to go awry given the particular variables involved. A massive contract, questions about desire and health and a super-agent eager to get his man out on the market and paid with a new contract all were combustible elements and boy, did they explode.
Apparently not wanting Boston to pick up the two $20 million options, Ramirez either did or didn’t do yeomans work in attempting to sabotage that decision. Among the highlights: shoving traveling secretary Jack McCormick after the denial of his game-day request for 16 tickets in Houston, a televised dugout scuffle with Kevin Youkilis, his two-game sit-out due to knee ‘injuries’ (which knee was it again?) and the subsequent MRIs that showed nothing, the public comments on ownership and everything else that encompassed the final few months of the Manny being Manny era.
And just when we thought he’d be here to stay, the announcement was made that ManRam was dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a three-way trade involving the Pirates. He made nice with the L.A. media, said he loved it there and hoped he would stay, much like we thought he would. He tore up the National League’s pitching and helped the Dodgers make the postseason, much like we thought he would. And last week, the free agent Ramirez began to whine about retirement because he’s not getting the offers he expected…much like we thought he would.
2) New England carries undefeated season into Super Bowl, get upset by NY Giants – The stage was set for the coronation of the king, but somebody forgot to tell the New York Giants. The improbable became reality and as Michael Strahan, Plaxico Burress and Tom Coughlin celebrated amidst the confetti and adulation, the Patriots and their legion was left wondering exactly what the hell happened on that Arizona field.
It was a season that seemed too good to be true: an offense led by Brady, Randy Moss, Wes Welker and others that sits among the greatest of all time, a defense led by last-chance veterans mixed in with emerging talent and a coach that had gone 3-for-3 in previous Super Bowls and seemed hell-bent on revenge for Spygate. But in the week leading up to the game, everything began to disintegrate. It started with the questions about Tom Brady’s ankle and escalated with all of the questions that had to be answered about supposedly filming a walkthrough practice prior to Super Bowl 36.
After the game began, it was a lot tighter and tougher than people expected. The Giants defense swallowed the Patriots’ offensive line whole and the storied offense sputtered. But Brady connected with Moss like he did all season and with 2:42 left, the Patriots had the lead and trusted their defense to shut the Giants down. Alas, it was not to be and fans will always wonder what might have been if Asante Samuel and Brandon Meriweather had made those interceptions, if Rodney Harrison could have swatted down that pass to David Tyree and if Eli Manning had fallen down after having his jersey nearly ripped off while scrambling. As New England fans found out, coronations aren’t guaranteed and neither are perfect seasons.
1) Celtics renew rivalry with Lakers, defeat LA in six games to win 17th World Championship – There was a time when the Boston Celtics were among the most respected franchises not just in basketball, but in sports. The team had won a record 16 World Championships, taking home a record eight straight from 1959-1966. After establishing a big three of Hall-of-Famers Larry Bird, Robert Parish and Kevin McHale in the 1980s, glory returned to the hallowed Boston Garden, earning titles in 1981, 1984 and 1986. Since that last title, the luck of the Irish began to fade away with the deaths of Len Bias and Reggie Lewis, failed draft picks and a general malaise that befit a once-proud franchise.
Things couldn’t have got any lower following a 24-58 record in ’06-’07 when expectations of drafting Greg Oden or Kevin Durant evaporated with the pull of a lottery ball that said #5 on it. Who knew that would be the catalyst for what would happen next? First, the team made a trade for shooter Ray Allen that was grumbled about because of his ankle surgeries, followed up by not taking ‘no’ for an answer and pulling off a huge deal for power forward Kevin Garnett. For the first time in a long time, Paul Pierce had playmakers around him and there was cautious optimism over what this new Big Three could do.
What they did was spectacular. Garnett’s intensity was off the charts and the TD Banknorth Garden went from a hospital atmosphere to a raucous atmosphere. The Celtics started the year 26-3 and were the beast of the Eastern Conference with a 66-16 mark, their best since the ’85-’86 title year. After hard-fought series with new rivals Atlanta and Cleveland and a six-game victory over Detroit, it was time to renew their long-time rivalry with the Los Angeles Lakers. It was David Stern’s dream come true.
Closing it out at home in six games, the final 131-92 blowout gave us time to reflect on what we had seen the entire season. A team went from horrendous to top of the world in a year’s time, fueled by three players who set their egos aside and just went out to win. Danny Ainge’s drafting brilliance came through as homegrown talent like Leon Powe, Rajon Rondo and even Glen Davis played big roles.
A region that wanted to believe was suddenly revived and the Celtics joined the Red Sox and Patriots as contenders in the market. Most importantly, they established an expectation level that fans should come to expect the Celtics to be competitive from here on out. In other words, no more 24-58 seasons.
The Celtics made basketball matter in Boston again and that’s why they’re the top Boston sports story for 2008.
>Top Boston sports stories: #11-20
Josh Nason – josh [at] smallwhiteball [com] – is the publisher and main writer of Small White Ball, an all-encompassing sports blog that began in 2007. You can also read on mixed martial arts, boxing and pro wrestling at brother site RopesRingandCage.com. If you’re using any part of this post, please link back to http://www.smallwhiteball.com. Thank you!

Labels: boston bruins; top 10 boston sports stories of 2008, boston celtics, Boston Red Sox; New England Patriots, Kevin Garnett; David Ortiz, Paul Pierce; Tom Brady